Dein erstes Forum » cceptance among Americans, Sams entry

MELBOURNE, Australia - Rafael Nadal has joined Roger Federer on the sidelines at the Australian Open, taking their combined 31 Grand Slam singles titles with them.On the womens side, second-seeded Maria Sharapova, who beat Eugenie Bouchard on Tuesday, and Ekaterina Makarova are still around and will play an all-Russian semifinal.Nadals lack of match fitness from nearly six months of injuries and illness finally caught up with the 14-time major champion in his quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych. He was never much of a factor and lost 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (5).The third-seeded Nadal said before the tournament that his inactivity over the last half of 2014 made him unlikely to win more than a few rounds. Coming into the Australian Open, Nadal had played only eight matches since last June because of a right wrist injury and appendix surgery in November.Federer, who has 17 major titles, including four in Australia, departed Melbourne Park after an upset third-round loss to Andrea Seppi.Nadal said he was surprised to have advanced as far as he did in Melbourne.It is obvious that I needed something more to be more competitive, Nadal said. As I said when I arrived here, the process always is not easy. When you have injuries, comebacks are difficult. But without being at my top level of tennis, I was able to be here in quarterfinals. Is not a bad result at all for me.Berdych said, I was ready for everything and I think that was the difference ... when youre playing Rafa you have to keep going to the last point.The seventh-seeded Berdych, who had lost 17 straight matches to Nadal, will play sixth-seeded Andy Murray in the semifinals after the British player beat local hope Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in a night match.Kyrgios came back from two sets down and saved a match point in the fourth round Sunday before beating Italian Andreas Seppi, the player who had eliminated Federer, but there was no such comeback on Tuesday.The 19-year-old Kyrgios, who walked onto the court with his headphones on and gave two thumbs-up to the crowd, was at his crowd-pleasing best. After hitting a backhanded drop shot at the net for winner in the second set, he spread out his arms for applause, and in the third set, he hit a between-the-legs shot that Murray easily returned.It was a tricky match, Murray said. I tried to start as quick as possible because I know how dangerous Nick is. Hes a huge hitter of the ball, so I tried to keep it out of his strike zone as much as possible. Thankfully it worked.Sharapova moved closer to another Australian Open title, defeating 20-year-old Bouchard 6-3, 6-2.The Russian made all the big points look easy and advanced to play Makarova, who earlier beat third-seeded Simona Halep 6-4, 6-0.I felt pretty good from the start, didnt feel I had too many letdowns, Sharapova said, adding that her close call in the second round — facing two match points against a qualifier — sharpened her focus for the rest of the tournament.The last time Sharapova and Bouchard met — in the semifinals at the French Open last year — Bouchard won the first set before Sharapova came back to take the next two. The Russian then won the title at Roland Garros.This time, Bouchard, who made the finals of Wimbledon and two other Grand Slam semis last year, didnt come close to taking a set, looking flat from the outset while being broken in her opening service game. The Genie Army, a group of young Australian men who croon about the Canadian player, was left to sing another day.She didnt give me many chances, and against the great players you have to take any chances you can get, Bouchard said.The other womens semifinalists will be determined on Wednesday when No. 1-ranked Serena Williams plays last years finalist, Dominika Cibulkova, and Venus Williams, playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in nearly five years, takes on 19-year-old American Madison Keys.If the Williams sisters play each other in the semifinals, it would be their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament since the Wimbledon final in 2009 — won by Serena. Kole Calhoun Jersey . 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According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington.NEW YORK -- Michael Sam was picked by the St. 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 ffar from the place where he played his college ball, with three former Missouri teammates.dddddddddddd 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. ' ' '