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ST. LOUIS - Michael Sam dismissed the thought that his sexuality has cost him a spot in the NFL.I dont like to think that way, Sam said in an Oprah Winfrey Network documentary that aired Saturday night. But I do believe Im a very talented football player and Im going to continue working hard and try to get that opportunity to play in the league.The first openly gay player drafted in the NFL has no regrets.I did everything I was supposed to do. I did everything right, Sam said. I am proud of how I handled things.Sam said coming out was the right thing to do. He would have preferred the news come out after he informed the team that drafted him, but he feared it would be revealed and felt pressure to control the situation.It didnt need to be public, Sam said. Why do gay people have to do it?The production was billed as the players first TV appearance since being cut by the Dallas Cowboys in mid-October and played like a personal Hard Knocks. The 90-minute program was followed by a one-on-one with Winfrey, who asked Sam whether he believed sexual orientation is hurting his chances, and how long hed keep trying.As long as I can, Sam replied.The documentary details countless anxious hours during the NFL draft, which Sam called the longest three days of my life. The New York Jets telephoned his agents to say they werent interested, and the Cowboys texted to say they were out, too.Sam, who rose to stardom after a difficult childhood in tiny Hitchcock, Texas, asked that the sound on the TV be turned down at one point before the St. Louis Rams took him late in the seventh round.Am I going undrafted? a frustrated Sam asked agent Cameron Weiss. This phone still has not beeped.Sam said the reassuring hand of his boyfriend, Vito Cammisano, on his shoulder during the wait to get picked affirmed the decision last February to reveal his sexual orientation to the nation. He informed Missouri coaches and players before his senior season and was the team MVP and SEC co-defensive player of the year.In that moment, I was like I dont care what happens. I made the right choice to come out, Sam said.Sam broke down in sobs when Rams coach Jeff Fisher telephoned just before the team made him the 249th pick of the 256-pick draft. He had been projected to be chosen as early as the fourth round.Sam kissed and hugged Cammisano and then the two smashed cake in each others faces as a national television audience looked on.Some say the kiss, the cake, it was all just too much, Winfrey said in the voiceover prom for the program. Some say he wasnt good enough. Others say he should have never come out, one saying during the introduction to the program that he would be the mother of all distractions.Sam called it the infamous kiss. He said it was spontaneous and added hed thought the cameras had been turned off.Everyone made a big deal out of it, Sam said. Its just a kiss. Did you forget that I was gay? Should I be kissing a woman instead?Sam was among 21 players waived by the team to reach the 53-player limit before the season opener.Echoing his remarks after making the pick, coach Jeff Fisher said several times it was purely a football decision. The Rams were well-stocked with pass rushers, and undrafted Ethan Westbrooks grabbed the final defensive end spot.I will tell you this: I was pulling for Mike, Fisher said then. I really was, and I dont say that very often. Mike came in here and did everything we asked him to do.On Twitter, roughly an hour after he was cut, Sam thanked the Rams and the city of St. Louis. He also wrote The most worthwhile things in life rarely come easy, this is a lesson Ive always known. The journey continues.Sam spent seven weeks on the Cowboys practice squad before being released and is currently a free agent.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Robert Newhouse Cowboys Jersey . 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The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135.Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Robin Lehner made 35 saves, and the Ottawa Senators scored four goals in a 5 1/2 minute span in their 7-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday afternoon. He was great down the stretch, said Senators forward Bobby Ryan. He controlled the pace of the play. Milan Michalek and Mark Stone each scored in the closing minutes of the second period, and Ryan and Jean-Gabriel Pageau added goals very early in the third period. Ottawa also got goals from Mike Hoffman, Erik Karlsson and Mika Zibanejad to win for the second time in three games. Marc Methot tallied a career-high three assists. Mike Smith allowed five Senators goals on 20 shots against him before getting the hook in the third period. Zbynek Michalek and Sam Gagner scored Arizonas goals as the Coyotes fell to 1-3-2 on their ongoing eight-game road trip. After two goals were scored in the first 69 seconds of the game, it took until late in the second period for either team to light the lamp again. Milan Michalek skated around two Coyotes before snapping a shot past Smith to break the 1-1 tie. Stone extended Ottawas lead two minutes later when he deflected Methots point shot. Ottawa added to its lead right after a successful penalty kill early in the third period. A Coyotes turnover exiting the zone sent the Senators moving the other way. Ryan took the backhand pass from Clarke MacArthur and jabbed a one-timer past Smith. Just 20 secoonds later, Pageaus backhand goal chased Smith from the game, and Louis Domingue made his NHL debut in relief.dddddddddddd Gagner scored the next goal when he deflected Lauri Korpikoskis wrist shot by Lehner, but the Coyotes would not get any closer. With eight minutes to go in the game, Karlsson took advantage of an ill- timed Arizona line change to fire a shot by Domingue, and Zibanejad scored with 1 1/2 minutes left after Ryan set him up for a one-timer at the side of the net. In the end, it was embarrassing, said Coyotes defenseman Zbynek Michalek. Thats not how we want to play. One game after only needing five seconds in a period to score a goal, Arizona got off to another fast start against Ottawa. Zbynek Michalek scored just 40 seconds into the game when his wrist shot deflected off Methots glove into the net. Hoffman only needed 29 seconds to tie the game when he wristed a loose puck by Smith. Game Notes Ottawa swept the season series, outscoring Arizona 12-3 ... Zibanejad has scored in three straight games ... The Coyotes have been outscored 62-31 in the third period ... David Legwand had two assists for the Senators, and Ryan, Stone, Karlsson and Zibanejad each had two points ... For the first time since Jan. 12, 1985, two sets of brothers competed in the same game with Zbynek and Milan Michalek and the Stone brothers, Mike and Mark. ' ' '