Likely to Drop His Draft Value
With Michael Sam poised this week to become the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL, several teams are likely to pass on selecting him because of the his presence on their rosters would generate, a pair of NFL insiders say.
On the new episode of Games, Bill Polian, a former top executive for several pro football franchises and now an ESPN analyst, said he believes Sam coming out probably hurt his draft status, because teams are cognizant of the extra media scrutiny that drafting him will bring.
of the questions you would ask is, as a football player, is he worth all of the trouble we going to have in terms of the early going with media, with involvement by the league office, with involvement by special interest groups, et cetera? Is he worth all that trouble? Polian told me and ESPN Andy Katz.
are going to be some teams, unfortunately, who say, he isn He not that great a player that they going to be willing to put up with the early kinds of intrusions football people would view them as intrusions and distractions that you will get, because this is not a sports media issue, he added. is MSNBC. This is Fox News network. is [Bill] O stuff that is going to get forced into your football program. based on the former University of Missouri defensive end talents, some franchises are likely to conclude that bringing him aboard is not worth the trouble, Polian told us. Some scouts and analysts are predicting that Sam might not even get drafted.
while a good player and in my humble opinion good enough to make it in the league, and make a team and be a contributor as a pass rusher and special teams player, they may not see the distraction as worth their while, Polian said.
WATCH: Michael Sam Faces Media for First Time After Coming Out
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter agreed that Sam sexual orientation will be a factor when teams start drafting players Thursday. Sam, 24, came out as gay in February, after the college football season concluded, although many of his teammates were previously aware of his sexual orientation.
know of all the other factors that come along with drafting a Michael Sam, Schefter said. is not just ESPN covering the debut of some rookie fifth , sixth , seventh round draft pick, wherever it is that he is picked. is every TV station, this is media coverage, this is a lot of extracurricular activities that mid to late round draft picks don ordinarily bring.
this particular case, it would be a lot of extra attention. I think you factor it into your decision, but I don think it makes the ultimate decision for you. officials are aware of the spotlight they under in regard to Sam, Schefter added.
league is at a crossroads in terms of locker room culture and atmosphere that it is trying to teach and employ, he said. think that the league is at a moment in time where it has the chance to make a difference, and this is another example of that where the way a league and the team this situation can help be an example for other businesses and walks of life. I think the league recognizes that, is aware of it, and wants to make sure it is out in front of this, leading by example. said that he thinks the extra attention on Sam will die down if and when he becomes a regular NFL player. He compared it the firestorm of media coverage around Notre Dame Manti Te surrounding last year draft, after a bizarre story emerged revealing that the existence and death of his supposed girlfriend had been a hoax.
think he will come off some teams boards. But I also think that and maybe it not as extreme of an example but last year there was a lot of attention around Manti Te and that was going to be a distraction to for whatever team took him. And yet the [San Diego] Chargers drafted him in the second round and he didn seem to be much of a distraction at all year long, he said.
think it how a team will handle it. And the Manti Te issue went away, and I think over the time maybe the Michael Sam issue also will slowly just dissipate. also talked with Polian and Schefter about the political intrigue that surrounds the draft, with agents, coaches, general managers, scouts and members of the media engaged in wheeling and dealing as well as misinformation campaigns.
You can listen to the full podcast HERE.
Games with cheap nfl jerseys Katz and Klein is a part of the new podcast series, ESPN Perspectives, with original programming on issues across the sports world. The program explores the intersection of sports and politics, through interviews and analysis, and can be downloaded free via iTunes.
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Week Four NFL PredictionsThanks for checking out my free week four NFL game picks for the 2010 season. These week four NFL game predictions are suitable for an office football pool or just for entertainment. These are not point spread picks because I really don’t do well with those. Not counting the Monday Night (not played when I wrote this) I went 9 6 in week three, not my best work. But I am 32 and 15 on my NFL game predictions so far for the 2010 season. To be honest I don’t want you to use my picks to do your week four NFL office pool. I am not having my best year but I usually do a bit better than this so stick with me. Reading my week four NFL game predictions should however help you make up your mind on your own football picks. Feel free to blast or praise me in the comments below and if you think you are good, sign up and make some predications. We get paid to write these articles and you can as well. On to my free week four NFL prediction picks.Jets at the BillsThe Bills have some of the pieces to build a good team, just not enough of them. The fact that the Patriots really had to work to beat Buffalo should make the Jets take notice of the Bills. New York has been playing well now that Mark Sanchez is showing real improvement at quarterback. Even if the Jets play a little flat they should beat the Bills, 24 to 17.Broncos at TitansThe Broncos had nothing for the Colts but few teams do. Tennessee is coming off a good win over the Giants. The Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Broncos stop the run better than the pass which isn’t good for the Titans rush game. The Titans don’t pass well and Chris Johnson is their best weapon. My free week four NFL prediction is the Titans win 17 to 14.Bengals at the BrownsCincinnati proved last week they can overcome Carson Palmer having a bad game and that they can get up to beat bad teams. Cleveland is just pitiful but they always seem to knock off a team they shouldn’t. This game may be close but the Bengals win 24 to 17.Panthers at the SaintsNew Orleans dropped a heartbreaker to a good Atlanta team in week three. The Panthers are not a good team and have a rookie quarterback in Jimmy Clausen. Look for the Saints to win 27 to 10.Ravens at the SteelersI love watching Baltimore play Pittsburgh because these games are nasty. Two physical teams that do not like each other at all. The Ravens finally showed some offense but playing Cleveland will do that for you. Pittsburgh has done well without Big Ben and old timer Charlie Batch has his best game in about 100 years against Tampa last week. I am not convinced the Ravens offense is that much better. Steelers win a close one 17 to 14.49ers at the FalconsThe San Francisco 49ers are imploding and I wonder if Mike Singletary can keep his job for the whole season. Atlanta is set up for a trap game though after knocking off the World Champions Saints in overtime. I think Atlanta should come ready to play though and wins 21 to 10.Seahawks at RamsThe Seahawks won with some special teams help last year but I still feel they are less than average. The Rams beat the Redskins last week but are still a bad team. Bradford may have a good day against a bad Seahawks pass defense but Seattle wins 28 to 21.Lions at the PackersDetroit looks better than last year but the injury bug has bitten then. Green Bay may be a Super Bowl team and wins over the Lions 31 to 17.Texans at the RaidersHouston took a step back when they lost to a pumped up Dallas Cowboys team. Oakland proved they are not very good in a loss to a bad Cardinals team. Houston gets back on track with a 28 to 14 win.Colts at the JaguarsJacksonville sucks to put it honestly and the Colts are playing well again. Peyton Manning lights up the Jags 35 to 10.Redskins at the EaglesOh the drama for this game is great. Donovan McNabb was traded to division rival Washington to Cheap Jerseys From China make room for Kevin Kolb. Kolb sucked in his first game and was injured. Michael Vick comes in and plays so well the Eagles can’t bench him. McNabb is stuck on a bad team but will be fired up to stick it to his old team in the city where he was booed for years. Neither team has a defense but Vick has more help on offense. Philadelphia wins 31 to 24.Cardinals at the Chargers wholesale jerseys chinaThe Cardinals miss Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin, but right now Neil Lomax or Jim Hart would look good to them. San Diego is the most overrated team in football and Phillip Rivers has no weapons. Still this is a bad Arizona team and the Chargers win 24 to 13.Bears at the GiantsThe Bears have found some offense under Mike Martz and the Giants have found turnovers from Eli Manning. Look for Eli to bounce back and for Cutler to throw two or more picks this week. My Cheap nfl jerseys free week four NFL prediction is the Giants win 24 to 21.

Receiver Davante Adams from Palo Alto a potential first
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He Jiri Hudler Authentic Jersey may be the first Bay Area player chosen in this week’s NFL draft, but Fresno State wide receiver Davante Adams didn’t even take up the sport seriously until his junior season at Palo Alto High.
"I broke my arm in Pop Warner and http://www.blackhawksteamproshop.com/Brent_Seabrook_Jersey just gave it some time to heal," Adams said this week.
Instead, he played basketball for Jiri Hudler Youth Jersey a few years.
There was another reason he stayed away from football.
"My mom was pretty scared by it," Adams said. "She didn’t want me to play from the start. She was afraid something would happen to me."
Something did. Adams became a star during his redshirt freshman season at Fresno State, evolving quickly into quarterback Derek Carr’s favorite target and a possible first round pick in the NFL draft that runs Thursday through Saturday.
"We’re expecting Thursday," said Adams, who decided to leave Fresno State despite having two more years of eligibility. "If Friday happens, we’ll go from Brandon Saad Authentic Jersey there."
The 6 foot 1, 212 pounder caught 102 passes for 1,312 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman in 2012. That was just a start. Last fall, he led the NCAA with Brandon Saad Womens Jersey 131 receptions for 1,718 yards and 24 TDs.
Adams was twice named to the All Mountain West Conference first team after scoring at least one touchdown in 22 of his 26 career games. His 38 touchdowns set a MWC career record, even though he only played two seasons.
Asked what he expected to achieve in college, Adams said he wasn’t at all surprised.
"I knew I’d be good enough," he said. "I didn’t know exactly what numbers I’d be putting up, but I always knew if I put enough work blackhawksteamproshop.com/Patrick_Sharp_Jersey into and stayed true to my dream of playing professional ball I’d make it to this point. I kept that vision on the back of my mind."

Recapping Larry Holder’s quick analysis of all six New Orleans Saints 2014 NFL draft Jiri Hudler Jersey picks
Here is a recap http://www.blackhawksteamproshop.com/Brent_Seabrook_Jersey of some of what he wrote following each pick:
Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State (first round, No. Brandon Saad Authentic Jersey 20): "Cooks caught 128 passes for 1,730 yards and 16 touchdowns to win the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top receiver. He ran a lightning fast 4.33 second 40 yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. And now he’ll give the Saints that home run threat they seriously lacked in 2013. The perfect price for the perfect fit."
Stanley Jean Baptiste, CB, Nebraska (second round, No. 58): "The Saints undoubtedly have a logjam at the second cornerback spot opposite Keenan Lewis. Players such as Champ Bailey, Corey White and Patrick Robinson are just a few candidates for the job. If Jean Baptiste pans out, the Saints would have Lewis as their shutdown cornerback, Kenny Vaccaro and Jairus Byrd as the Pro Bowl caliber safeties www.blackhawksteamproshop.com/Patrick_Sharp_Jersey and that tall, rangy, cornerback on the opposite side of the field."
Khairi Fortt, LB, Cal (fourth round, No. 126): "Selecting Fortt certainly fills a need. Don’t look here if you’re hoping for a pass rushing outside linebacker, though. 167): "He’s not a need. The Saints have four safeties on the roster with Jairus Byrd, Kenny Vaccaro, Rafael Bush and Marcus Ball. He’s banged up, too. Sunseri is coming off a torn ACL in his knee in October. So why make the Jiri Hudler Red Jersey pick? Well he returned two interceptions for touchdowns last season off Johnny Manziel and Logan Thomas. He’s also known for his special teams skills at Alabama. That’s enough to reason to justify the pick."
Ronald Powell, LB, Brandon Saad Womens Jersey Florida (fifth round, No. 169): "High expectations have followed Powell his entire football life after being one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school. Multiple ACL tears in 2012 sidetracked his career with the Gators. He returned in 2013 to play in 13 games and start nine of them. . I’ll be interested to see how Powell and Rufus Johnson progress this offseason because despite their differing routes to the league, they could be battling for the same spot on the roster."
Tavon Rooks, OT, Kansas State (sixth round, No. 202): "Rooks has some history on his side, but it will be quite the challenge for Rooks to make the Saints roster. Terron Armstead is the starting left tackle and Bryce Harris is a shoo in to be the swing tackle."

5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Patrick Sharp Jersey Mental IllnessIf there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that mental health care in the United States is as broken as a Trent Reznor sad off with the Cure. Being the "quickest, simplest fix we can muster" creatures that we are, we decided that we should patch it with one simple law and then never talk about it again.But that’s not enough, Brent Seabrook Authentic Jersey because mental health is an astronomically vast and complex issue with wildly varying degrees of severity. Our current system can’t even begin to tackle the library length definitions because we’re still fumbling around at the most basic levels. For instance .5. It’s Freaking Impossible to Get TreatmentIf you’re lucky enough to have generalized anxiety/PTSD/phobia/obsessive compulsive disorder (to list the most common disorders), you may already have a pretty solid understanding of this entry since, statistically speaking, no one has ever helped you. Just because your brain has turned on you faster than your drunken aunt at Christmas dinner doesn’t mean you’re actually going to get a ticket on the treatment train to Curesville.Of the 46 million Americans with a mental health problem, only 38 percent end up getting treatment. Among those who don’t, 7 percent don’t want Patrick Sharp Premier Jersey anyone to find out they have a problem, 17 percent don’t know where to go, and 50 percent just plum can’t afford it. Doctors who specialize in making sure your brain doesn’t have a demon shitting in it are the hardest doctors in the country to find: Almost 90 million Americans live in "Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas." What does that mean? Well, take a look at this chart:It means that in parts of our country, there is one psychiatrist for every 30,000 citizens. Considering that 1 in 4 Americans has a diagnosable mental disorder, that’s roughly the equivalent of a single NFL referee explaining the last call to each person in the stands individually.But that’s just the numbers icing on the can’t get treatment cake. The real problem here is shame, which I guess is trans fat in this metaphor. Christ, I’m hungry. The thing that sets mental health problems apart is that no one’s ashamed of getting the flu, and fighting something like cancer even wins you some social bonus points. But aside from the occasional Oscar bait Ron Howard flick about triumphantly overcoming your cartoonishly simplified version of schizophrenia, insanity is just comedy fodder. Once you’re diagnosed as mentally ill, if you’re not about acting weird ("You total nut job!" or "That’s mental" if you’re Ron Weasley), your entire experience will be dismissed as something quirky ("I have such OCD about not wanting dog poop in my pasta!"). And since most mental illnesses are easy enough to hide, it can seem simpler to just not tell anyone and suffer alone. And that’s the problem: If you skip your cancer treatment, everyone will think you’re crazy. But unlike the flu, you can’t just get over most mental illnesses. They’re like the One Ring of Power: The longer you keep one around, the worse its hold over you gets. So you decide to take off your shoes and walk your creepy looking feet to the local volcano to finally do something about it. But when you show up, you find 17 different pools of lava and 20 different volcano guides telling you you’re at the wrong one, because .4. The "System" Is Made of a Bunch of Organizations That Don’t CommunicateWhen you hear the phrase "mental health care system," you probably imagine a bunch of organizations passing files around and wearing fancy suits and using big businessy words with each other, but in reality, there’s pretty much no inter departmental coordination in mental health care. According to experts, they all just stumble around like visiting family members in the kitchen over the holidays: They’re ostensibly working toward the same goal, but doing so in totally different ways, stubbornly insisting that theirs is the only way that makes sense, utterly refusing to talk about it, and drinking lots of cheap red wine while calling your cousin a worthless whore. If you’re a kid with an illness, the school you attend, your counselor, and the juvenile justice system (which you will ) are all likely to recommend totally different things or even repeat treatments just because paperwork hasn’t been exchanged properly. Experts insist that "system" isn’t even an appropriate word to describe it, but I suppose "clusterfuck" isn’t entirely appropriate for textbooks and government reports.And every part of the system is specialized. An emergency room, for example, can help someone who is on the verge of hurting himself, but once that immediate problem is treated, they’re done. The patient is sent home with a stern "don’t try to kill yourself again," and blackhawksteamproshop.com/Brandon_Saad_Jersey nothing treats severe depression better than a stranger in a white coat making perfunctory professional remarks."I’m writing you a prescription of ’stop being depressed.’ Take one a day, forever."It’s such a mess that people in desperate need of help have no idea what to do or who to contact. Parents have actually called the cops on their own kids to get them arrested, hoping that throwing them headlong into the system would actually get them the help they need. That might help explain why half the flamesprostore.com/Jiri_Hudler_Jersey people in prison have mental health problems. I (briefly) taught a poetry workshop in a federal prison, and to me, that fraction seems a bit small but it helps explain why so many people in prison end up reoffending when they get out. No matter what fucked up game your brain is playing on you, being locked in a tiny room isn’t going to help.3. Mental Illness Has a Lifetime MembershipWhile many physical illnesses are recurring, most mental illnesses last forever. No matter your treatment, you never get to slay that final boss and teabag his smoldering corpse because there are no cures for mental illnesses. That pill you take? That therapy? Whatever it is, there’s no solution you’re working toward you’re just trying to make it as easy as possible to live with and manage your affliction. It’s part of your life now. Forever, like a bad case of "I’d like to hear some funky Dixieland" echoing in your thoughts until the day of your sweet, mortal release. Even after your symptoms disappear.What sets this apart from most recurring physical illnesses is that the stigma stays with you, too. That difficulty finding a job we mentioned Brent Seabrook Premier Jersey earlier? That’s not something that goes away once you get treatment you just learn how to manage it so you don’t end up rotting away in your apartment as, one by one, the utilities disappear. The best you can hope for is going into "remission," but since "the lack of symptoms alone is not an adequate gauge of remission," lots of people will never feel like they have any control over when that remission happens, or what it even is. You’re just waiting for someone else to tell you that your brain is working again. It’s why physical doctors can take on so many patients. It’s in and out.Mental health care, however, is oftentimes a lifelong commitment involving not only medication, but counseling and psychiatric evaluations that require more frequent trips to the doctor and close personal interaction. Treating a cold is easy because the symptoms are always the same and it goes away on its own. Treating any of the five types of schizophrenia is an ongoing process that requires constant medication and professional monitoring. Just getting a correct diagnosis of the problem can take months. Sometimes, years.

with Tim Kawakami Patrick Kane Youth JerseySo all the reports make it clear: Cleveland is apparently willing Marian Hossa Womens Jersey to put No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins into the offer for Kevin Love, has started to accumulate interesting pieces to re direct to Minnesota, and that seems to have moved the Love derby to its final stages.Obviously, this is still up to Minnesota chief Flip Saunders, but there is some presumption that his No. 1 hope was to get the Warriors to put Klay Thompson into an offer, and now Saunders is finally accepting that the Warriors aren doing that. (Or he making a last attempt to draw the GSWs back into the discussions by nearing a deal with someone else.)Now attention has switched full tilt to Cleveland and Wiggins and maybe late runs by Chicago, Denver and wherever else Yes, there could finally be closure with the Love scenario, go figure.Which means: It time to debate the Warriors decision to keep Klay Thompson out of their offer for Love (even though the Warriors knew adding Thompson could almost certainly get them Love, if they accepted Minnesota other terms) OVER AGAIN!Well, at least it was time to re debate this yesterday on Twitter, and I understand that many smart NBA people think the Warriors are being dumb. Straight from today blackhawksteamproshop.com/Duncan_Keith_Jersey Merc website (MY VERSION)/Jim Harbaugh’s full 49ers squad hits the field in Santa Clara to start training camp Thursday, which is Day 1 of another planned gallop into the playoffs.Dennis Allen’s full Raiders squad starts practicing a day later in Napa, and this event should be http://www.blackhawksteamproshop.com/Jonathan_Toews_Jersey cracking with kinetic energy, too.Two edgy franchises, two high strung coaches, two levels of expectation but there’s one unifying Bay Area training camp theme this summer:Thanks to the lack of closure in the last few seasons, this year shapes up as either a long awaited break though or a breaking point for these teams.The Warriors have an interesting decision to make on 2013 first round pick Nemanja Nedovic, who did not exactly inspire gushing reviews through the team Las Vegas Summer League run, which just ended yesterday.It certainly not a Kevin Love/Klay Thompson level decision; just one of those interesting roster/payroll decisions teams face every year. The decision: The Warriors have until Oct. 31 to decide whether to exercise Nedovic $1.15M third year option for 2015 (not for this season, but NEXT season), a paperwork deadline that only becomes tricky when the guy you drafted hasn looked very good for his first 13 months as an NBA player. The Warriors made this call on 2006 first round pick Patrick O in October 2007 after his lost rookie year; he served out his limbo season with the GSWs, became an unrestricted free agent in July 2008, signed with Boston that summer and was out of the league by April 2010.I don know what the Warriors will do with Nedovic option, and I don think they decided. Back in 2013, they paid $1.6M to buy into the first round (and then got $1M of it back by trading down to select Nedovic), so they already got some sunk cost here, even if Nedovic is a sketchy NBA value at this point.But if the Warriors want to create a little more financial maneuverability next summer (remember, they already committed $56.1M to 5 players for 2015 and have Klay Thompson huge pending new deal set to kick in by then plus team options on Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, a player option with Brandon Rush and also Draymond Green is scheduled to be a restricted free agent next summer) out Nedovic $1.15M option might be a way to get in some advance pruning. They have to be considering this and I believe they are.News update: 49ers LB Aldon Smith sentencing hearing on DUI and weapons charges was moved up a week to just now, when the judge reduced his felony gun charges to misdemeanors and sentenced Smith to 12 days in jail (beginning with one day of credit), which can be served on a work crewon Mondays, not in prison.That 11 Mondays. Coincidentally, if you count 11 Mondays from now, the last Monday served would come right before the 49ers first Monday night game, in St. Louis, on Oct. 13.All in all, a pretty agreeable sentence for Smith, but Patrick Kane Authentic Jersey that was up to the judge.For the football part of this is about the best Smith and the 49ers could hoped for (and maybe knew was coming): A ruling before camp, no felonies, and Smith can freely participate in almost all of camp while bypassing prison time.I say that the judge followed the lead of 49ers management in granting Smith A LOT of benefit of the doubt. (Interestingly Jim Harbaugh seemed to know a lot of what might be coming when we discussed this issue not too long ago. I got no problem with that is a smart guy and always knows the angles.)And now we see if NFL commissioner Roger Marian Hossa Authentic Jersey Goodell follows suit as the league considers potential punishment for violating the player conduct policy.It hasn been a simple slam dunk decision for Warriors co owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers what I been repeatedly told in the last few days by several NBA sources, as the Kevin Love talks continue and the Warriors continue to resist Minnesota request for Klay Thompson.The Warriors want Love, as do many other teams.The Warriors also believe that Love would like being in the Bay Area, so they not overly worried about his ability to become a free agent next summer, though the pending free agency is a factor for everybody. (He be a max contract guy, he have power over his team until he signs it, all those things are factors.)