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ST. LOUIS -- Jeff Fisher has never been afraid to buck a trend, draft a troubled player or grant a second chance. The coach of the Rams stuck with Adam "Pacman" Jones and Kenny Britt when he was at Tennessee, despite their off-field problems. Britt is now reunited with Fisher in St. Louis. Fisher recently rehired Gregg Williams, the defensive co-ordinator who was given a one-year suspension by the league for the bounty scandal with the Saints. It was not a surprise that it was Fisher who helped Michael Sam make history as the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. "He is an amazing leader, and even better, hes a better man," said Wade Davis, the head of an advocacy group for lesbian and gay athletes. Davis currently is doing some work with the NFL. "He looks at everything from all angles and hes not afraid to take on a challenge." The 56-year-old Fisher deflects any praise for being a trailblazer, insisting it was simply a football decision to upgrade one of the NFLs top pass rushes by taking Sam at No. 249. "In our world, nobodys going to agree with what you do 100 per cent of the time because everybody has opinions, and thats fine," Fisher said. "Im concerned about whats going on in the building, with the staff and players, the direction were headed. Thats always been the case." At least on the field, Fisher can relate to the challenge for Sam. He also was a seventh-round pick, the fourth wheel of a star-studded Southern California secondary that featured Ronnie Lott, Dennis Smith and Joey Browner. He then carved out a career playing under Mike Ditka for a Super Bowl winner in Chicago and is entering his 19th season as an NFL head coach. Lott, a Hall of Famer, recalls Fisher smoothly making the switch from wide receiver to cornerback. "To me, its easy to play wide receiver because you know where youre going," Lott said. "Having to react, respond and do it with confidence and knowing youre not going to win every play, thats the mindset on defence. The determination he had then has stayed with him." Not long after Sam came out in February, Fisher said hed have no problem having him on the team, that this was an age of diversity. Turns out it wasnt just talk. Several picks before the Rams took Sam, Fisher broached the subject with owner Stan Kroenke and general manager Les Snead. Ditka said he wasnt surprised it was Fisher who stepped up when every other team was backing away from Sam. Ditka, who once traded all his draft picks to land Ricky Williams, called it a "pretty gutsy move." Players have fallen in lockstep with their coach on the question of picking Sam. Defensive end Chris Long called it a "football move" and so did linebacker James Laurinaitis. "I dont think it was courageous," Laurinaitis said. "I think its a calculated move by the organization. ... If you have the opportunity to draft a guy that you think is extremely productive and maybe you had a higher grade on him than where he is, you go ahead and take that. I think football-wise, it was a very smart decision." Fisher wouldnt say how far Sam slid on the Rams draft board. The coach joked that divulging that information might affect Sams rookie contract. Titans broadcaster Thom Abraham remembers Fisher in 2009 after Tennessees 0-6 start removing his sport coat, tie and shirt at the podium of a civic function to reveal a Peyton Manning jersey underneath. The punch line: "I just wanted to know what it felt like to be a winner." "Picking Sam did not surprise me one bit," Abraham said of Fisher. "Hes confident in his ability to be out front, and almost represent the NFL." Sam has had several off-season workouts and more practices are on tap this week with the veterans. Long said Sam was working hard and former Missouri teammate, receiver T.J. Moe, said the team viewed Sam simply as someone trying to make it in the NFL. "He is on the team. Theres a 90-man roster, it doesnt go 89 and then Michael Sams over there, this is the gay team, this is the straight team," Moe said. "Michael Sam is on this team and hes treated just like anybody else." And if Sam struggles, nobody that knows Fisher well doubts the coach will have any problem cutting him loose. "He doesnt like doing that part of it," said Brad Hopkins, a former Pro Bowl offensive tackle who played his entire NFL career under Fisher. "But he knows it has to be done, and that you cant make everybody happy." Tom Seaver Jersey . The Indians scored twice in the top of the ninth, getting the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by closer Matt Lindstrom. Axford (0-1) came in seeking his fifth save in as many chances. Joe Morgan Jersey . The Force had two men, including former Wallabies No. 8 Ben McCalman, in the sin-bin in the dying minutes of the match, but were able to resist a late Highlanders surge to post a four-try, bonus point win. http://www.redsgearshop.com/Reds-Matt-Harvey-Kids-Jersey/. The flanker began his comeback from a right shoulder injury by coming off the bench on Saturday when Wales opened with a victory over Italy. Warburton replaces Justin Tipuric, one of three changes announced on Tuesday by coach Warren Gatland. Homer Bailey Jersey .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. Eugenio Suarez Jersey . -- Mississippis Andrew Ritter said his game-winning, 41-yard field goal felt good off his foot. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It made sense perfect sense that New York Yankees rookie Chase Whitley pushed all the credit toward Brian McCann after earning the first win of his big league career. After all, the veteran catcher not only guided Whitley though a punchless Kansas City lineup, he also drove in three runs with a timely double in the third inning of what turned into a 4-2 victory over the Royals on Friday night. "He told me a game plan before the game and we were able to execute it," Whitley said. "Just follow whatever he has in store because that guy has everything. He does." Brian Roberts also drove in a run for the Yankees, who finally gave their young right-hander some support. Whitley (1-0) had allowed five earned runs in his first four starts, and left two of them with the lead, only for his team to saddle him with a series of no-decisions. Of course, McCann helped take care of that with his bases-loaded double. "Thats a huge hit," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Its a tough at-bat. He fouls off a lot of tough pitches, a change-up, a curveball, a real slow curveball, and he got a ball up in the zone and it turned into a double." Dellin Betances worked around a double by Alcides Escobar in the eighth, and David Robertson retired Salvador Perez with runners on first and second in the ninth to earn his 14th save. Jeremy Guthrie (2-6) wound up with the loss, once again getting very little support. Perez and Lorenzo Cain drove in the Royals runs. "I think I threw the ball all right except for the third inning when I gave up a couple of hits," Guthrie said. "I had McCann down to two strikes and couldnt finish him off. I threw a couple of pitches trying to finish him off and wasnt able to do that." Making their only scheduled visit to Kauffman Stadium, the Yankees won their second straight on the heels of a four-game losing streak. They also established some much-needed confidence as they began a 10-game trip that will take them through Seattle and Oakland. The Royaals figured they were catching a break during the four-game series by missing Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka, who pitched his way to a 2-1 win over the Athletics on Thursday.dddddddddddd Whitley made them wish they were facing the Japanese star. Mixing his fastball with an effective slider and change-up, the former 15th-round draft pick allowed five hits while striking out three without a walk in the longest start of his career. Whitley had never lasted more than five innings in the big leagues. "Yeah, tonights a big night. Were all happy for him," McCann said. "Hes worked really hard to get here, to do this." The Yankees took a 1-0 lead on a single by Roberts in the second inning, and Kansas City promptly answered when Perez followed a double by Alex Gordon with his own RBI single. New York quickly regained the lead in the third. Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner led off with singles, and Guthrie grazed Mark Teixeira on the shoulder to load the bases with one out. Thats when McCann connected for his double to left, giving the Yankees what turned out to be an insurmountable 4-1 lead. Guthrie kept the Royals in the game, retiring his final nine hitters. His weak-hitting offence even got a run back in the fifth when Cain drove in Gordon with a double. Still, it was not enough for Guthrie to avoid his sixth straight losing decision and his 11th consecutive start without a win. In the last five, the veteran right-hander has received a total of three runs of support. "We just couldnt get that big hit to come through," the Royals Billy Butler said. "We were putting some good at-bats together with no results. Those days are kind of frustrating." NOTES: Yankees SS Derek Jeter got the night off. Asked whether he felt he needed it, he replied: "I never feel like I need a day." ... The Royals traded LHP Justin Marks to Oakland for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment Monday. ... 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