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A now-retired Super Bowl-winning NFL running back went on a Twitter tirade on Saturday after openly gay 2014 draft pick Michael Sam kissed his boyfriend on television. Derrick Ward, 33, who was a member of the New York Giants Super Bowl XLII-winning team, didn't hide his disdain for ESPN's decision to air Sam's smooch with boyfriend Vito Cammisano after learning he would become a St. Louis Ram. 'Man U got little kids lookin at the draft,' Ward complained. 'I can't believe ESPN even allowed that to happen.'

Former Missouri defensive end Michael Sam became the first openly gay player in NFL history to be drafted when the Rams took him with the 249th pick on Saturday, but Sam almost didn't make history because he almost fell out of the draft. Sam was taken with the eighth-to-last pick, meaning he almost wasn't drafted at all, something he found rather shocking. The NFL's first openly gay player said he should've been picked higher. "From last season alone, I should've been in the first three rounds -- SEC Defensive player of the year, All-American," Sam said, listing off his 2013...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) President Barack Obama congratulated Michael Sam on Saturday for being the first openly gay football player taken in the National Football League draft, the White House said in a statement. "From the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove everyday that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are," Obama said. He also congratulated the NFL and the St. Louis Rams, the team that drafted Sam. Sam, an All-American defensive end who played for the University of Missouri, made history when he was picked by the Rams in the seventh and final...

BERKELEY, Calif. — A Cal football player is facing felony charges, accused of kicking a dog and seriously injuring a student at a fraternity party. Damariay Drew was arrested Thursday afternoon. His attorney told KTVU on Friday that due to the high bail of $100,000, Drew will likely remain in jail until Monday when he is expected to appear in court. Drew was recruited to UC Berkeley from Livermore High School in 2012. He joined the team as a safety on a full athletic scholarship. Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jamie Lucero told KTVU that the incident happened Sunday May 4th...

Green Bay — The Green Bay Packers were one player away from disaster Thursday night in the first round of the National Football League draft. Prospect after prospect the Packers held in high regard and held out hopes might be available at their No. 21 position had to be removed from their draft board. Finally, it came down to the slot just ahead of Green Bay. What would have been the reaction among the Packers' decision-makers if the New Orleans Saints would have selected safety Ha'Sean "Ha Ha" Clinton-Dix of Alabama with pick No. 20. "I would have been crushed,"...

NEW YORK -- It took nearly the entire draft, but Michael Sam and the NFL finally made history. The St. Louis Rams used the 249th pick in the seventh round to select Sam, who has officially become the league's first openly gay player. Being picked by St. Louis means Sam will stay in the state where he played college football as a standout at the University of Missouri.

The NFL draft — the league’s Radio City-staged, nationally televised, endlessly hyped off-season spectacle — opens Thursday night, and for the first time an openly gay player will be waiting for a phone call. But it could be a long wait for Michael Sam, the University of Missouri defender and all-American who came out in February. Draft analysts say he might not be selected until the last picks are made on Saturday — and perhaps not at all. If that happens, Sam could still sign with a team as an undrafted free agent and play on Sundays this fall. But...

Georgia State and Penn State have formed a unique partnership in the pursuit of football recruiting. Incoming Penn State James Franklin and his staff will work as guest coaches for the Trent Miles Football Camp at Georgia State on June 10. The arrangement appears a win-win for both programs. Penn State gets to evaluate high school players who would never travel to its camps in Pennsylvania while Georgia State gets exposure to more high-profile recruits than usual.

Michael Sam has been selected as the winner of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The former Missouri defensive end, who likely will be taken in this week's NFL draft, will receive the award given to individuals who transcend sports at the 2014 ESPYS on July 16. Sam, the SEC's defensive player of the year this past season, has announced he is gay and would become the first openly gay player in the NFL. He said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that he hopes to inspire other athletes.

The FBI sting operation that snared state Sen. Leland Yee and Chinatown tong leader Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow was snooping around an even bigger Bay Area name - 49ers football legend Joe Montana - but came up empty, according to informed sources. Montana, the Hall of Fame quarterback who has dabbled in development deals since retiring from football after the 1994 season, was contacted by an undercover FBI operative about an unspecified business proposition during the Yee-Chow investigation, according to one source familiar with the case. "Nobody has said he did anything wrong," said the source, who requested anonymity because...

<p>After the big names are off the board in the NFL Draft, the biggest question may not be when Michael Sam will be picked, it may be whether Michael Sam will be picked at all. Despite being named the Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC, Sam’s underwhelming physical measurables and his lack of a defined role in defenses could prevent him from being the first openly gay player selected in the draft.</p>

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS Tampa/AP) — Florida State’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston has been suspended from the university’s baseball team after being issued a citation for stealing crab legs. The Leon County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that Winston was caught shoplifting at a Tallahassee Publix Monday night and was issued a citation. Major Michael Wood said during a press conference that Winston told authorities that he just forgot to pay the $32 for the crab legs and other seafood items. “Jameis Winston has not been arrested for any crime. He was issued a civil citation,” Wood said. Wood added that...

The final football game ever in San Francisco's Candlestick Park will be played this summer by a team of 49ers greats, led by four-time Super Bowl winner Joe Montana. Montana, who played quarterback on the 49ers from 1979 to 1992, will suit up once again on July 12 to take on an all-star team led by famed Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, organizers said at a news conference in the waterfront restaurant Epic Roasthouse this morning. The 49ers played their last game at Candlestick in December and will debut at the under construction Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara for the...

In 2014, the cheerleaders revolted. This January, rookie NFL cheerleader Lacy T. kicked things off when she filed a class action lawsuit against the Oakland Raiders, alleging that the team fails to pay its Raiderettes minimum wage, withholds their pay until the end of the season, imposes illegal fines for minor infractions (like gaining 5 pounds), and forces cheerleaders to pay their own business expenses (everything from false eyelashes to monthly salon visits). Within a month, Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader Alexa Brenneman had filed a similar suit against her team, claiming that the Ben-Gals are paid just $2.85 an hour for...

The Buffalo Bills have agreed to pay up to $3 million – largely in the form of debit cards redeemable only at the team store – to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the team of sending too many alerts to fans who signed up for a text-messaging service. Jerry Wojcik, a Bills fan and area native now living in Florida, contended in his October 2012 suit that the team violated the terms of its text service by sending him 13 messages over two weeks when it promised to send no more than five per week. The lawsuit was panned...

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Something called the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has sent a demand letter to Clemson University regarding its football program. It appears head coach Dabo Swinney has had the unmitigated audacity to hire a team chaplain and have Bible studies. Three privately funded buses took the team to a church. Even more outrageous, three players spoke of their faith in Jesus Christ at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfast. The real horror is that their teammates heard about that faith in person. FFRF is a meddling group from Wisconsin intent on eliminating faith from the public square. Interestingly there isn’t...

“We didn’t run from where we grew up. We aren’t afraid to be associated with the people who came up with us.” That’s Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks writing in defense of his friend, DeSean Jackson, who was cut from the Philadelphia Eagles amid reports of gang ties. Sherman isn’t trying to litigate the allegations or exonerate Jackson—he doesn’t know the details. But he doesn’t think it’s wrong for Jackson to associate with the men from his childhood. And why would it be? Yes, some of them have criminal records—and for some, that includes gang activity—but leaving home is...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - John Urschel (Williamsville, N.Y.), the Penn State All-American guard who claimed the 2013 William V. Campbell Trophy from the National Football Foundation (NFF) as college football's premier scholar-athlete, has been named the recipient of the 84th James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to America's top amateur athlete. Urschel was announced as the winner of the prestigious award Friday night during an awards ceremony at the AAU National Headquarters in Orlando, Fla. 
Urschel was selected from a pool of 19 semifinalists vying for the honor in 2014, and was joined by two...

In politics, the trend is toward smaller, more homogenous government. Czechoslovakia broke into two countries. So did Sudan. The Balkan peninsula is, well, Balkanizing. Scotland will vote later this year on whether to leave the United Kingdom. In fact, it’s rare to be both large and successful. The United States works because the Founders designed a Constitution that carefully divided national powers among three branches and that aimed to push as much power as possible down to the states. China and Russia seem to be succeeding, although their aggressive physical growth (give us Crimea and Ukraine, or Tibet and Hong...