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| Autor | Wiadomo¶æ |
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|  Wys³any: 2019-01-16 02:43:10 Temat postu: 0 games, Karlsson is tied for
NEW YORK -- Years before Michael Sam was born, gay-rights activists Kate Kendell and Paul Guequierre were already die-hard National Football League fans. Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, grew up in Ogden, Utah, far from any NFL city, and became a fan of the Los Angeles Rams because shes an Aries and liked their uniforms. For Guequierre, raised in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and now a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, it was a family affair. Treasured season tickets for the Green Bay Packers were acquired by his grandfather, passed on to his father, and now are his. The cover photo of his Facebook page shows the towering statue of a Packers wide receiver. For Kendell, Guequierre and other gay fans of the NFL, their passion for pro football was rewarded May 10 with a moment they describe as thrilling: the decision by the Rams -- now of St. Louis -- to make Sam the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. "I feel like my support for the NFL now doesnt have an asterisk come with it," Kendell said. "Its now truly Americas game." The milestone has made gay fans more enthusiastic and already is drawing newcomers into the fold. Many may become Rams fans or -- like Guequierre -- henceforth consider St. Louis "my second favourite team." The NFL says it hasnt done any marketing research to gauge the size of its gay and lesbian fan base. Gay sports fans surveyed by Outsports said pro football was their favourite sport by far. Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler said that Sam -- if he makes the Rams roster -- will further boost the NFLs popularity among gays. "People who have never liked football are buying Michael Sam jerseys," he said. "People who have never watched a game watched the draft." As of midweek, Sams Rams jersey was the No. 2 seller among rookies at NFLShop.com, trailing only Johnny Manziel, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Sam -- although drafted 249th out of 256 players -- also was among just 10 draftees selected by the league to be featured on special bronze and silver commemorative coins, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. Howard Bragman, a public relations expert who has been working with Sam, expects the NFL and advertisers to capitalize on fans excitement over Sams debut. "The first time he plays, youre going to have huge numbers watching," said Bragman, the vice chairman of Reputation.com. "The NFL is a business," Bragman added. "It understands very well that LGBT fans are passionate, they have good incomes, theyre concentrated in NFL cities." Sam already has done a nationally televised ad for Visa. "The tide has turned," Bragman said. "Martina Navratilova said she lost endorsements after she came out. Youll find that Michael will do very well." That doesnt mean the NFLs advertisers will shift their focus away from heterosexual young males, nor are sexy female cheerleader squads likely to disappear. But gay fans may be all the more at peace with such things. "We know who theyre marketing to with those ads," said Guequierre. "Most (gay) people I know are OK with that. We dont feel like were being left out." Now based in Washington, D.C., Guequierre, 36, tries to attend at least one Packers home game per year, and makes his tickets for the other games available to relatives and friends, including a lesbian couple who are devoted fans. Guequierre said gay fans, like gay athletes, increasingly feel less pressure to conceal their sexual orientation while at games. He recalled an incident at a Packers game a few years ago, when he stood up and vocally scolded a fan behind him who had called a Chicago Bears player a homophobic slur. "No one else gave me a hard time," Guequierre said. "The guy looked embarrassed. ... He came across as the bad guy." Guequierres passion for football extends to the playing field -- hes an avid competitor in the D.C. Gay Flag Football League, which has 20 teams and about 275 players. One of the main sponsors is Nellies Sports Bar, one of a wave of gay sports bars that have opened up in cities nationwide. Doug Schantz, co-owner of Nellies, says there are now 25 TVs in the bar, all tuned to sports, with pro baseball and the NFL neck-and-neck as the most popular. "With the Redskins, it doesnt matter if theyre bad or good," Schantz said. On the other side of the country, Kate Kendell has settled into San Francisco, and is a zealous 49ers fan -- though her girlhood love of the Rams is now rekindled. She has raised her 17-year-old son to share her football passions. "On Monday nights, we break with tradition of sitting around the table as family," Kendell said. "We all watch the game. I leave office early to make sure were there for kickoff." Kendell expressed delight that gay youths would now be able to grow up with openly gay sports stars as role models. "Many of my gay male friends are not sports fans -- not because of lack of interest, but because their earliest introduction to sports made them feel stigmatized and shamed," she said, evoking epithets such as "You throw like a girl." "While surely there will continue to be homophobic remarks, there is a sense of a corner being turned," she said. "What I feel more than anything is a sense of elation and joy, that the game I loved since I was a kid I can now embrace without reservations." Wholesale Air Jordan 3 Australia .Johnny there, who knew he had that speed? teammate Tommy Wingels said.Scott and Matt Irwin were unlikely goal-scorers Tuesday night as the previously stingy San Jose Sharks finally sprung a leak or two, blowing a pair of three-goal leads before coming away with a 6-5 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals. Cheap Air Jordan 3 Australia . -- Theres nothing like winning to bring hope for a struggling team. http://www.airjordan3australia.com/. Many of those eyes are in the United States of America, a country that the sport has wanted on its side for some time. On Sunday the football Gods delivered once again, only this time it was time for good old USA to experience as much heartache as joy. Air Jordan 3 Retro Australia .com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday. Air Jordan 3 Australia . Former two-time Olympic gold medallist Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine in both her "A" and "B" samples, the German Olympic Committee said.A strong goaltending performance for the Flyers, Crosby back on track, Zucker snipes for the Wild and a Stephen Weiss sighting; Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Steve Mason – Recorded a 46-save shutout for the Flyers before losing in the shootout against the Islanders. Mason is up to a .923 save percentage on the season and has a .921 save percentage in 81 games with the Flyers; remarkable considering he had a .903 save percentage in 232 games with Columbus. Considering that hes toiling for a team with defensive issues (25th in the league in shot attempts allowed per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play), and injuries on the blueline pretty much all season, Mason has to play well for the Flyers to remain competitive. Crosby and Malkin – After a tough weekend against the Islanders, Sidney Crosby was in on every Pittsburgh goal, putting up a goal and two assists, in a 3-2 overtime win over Boston Monday. Crosby’s three-point night moved him into a tie with Philadelphia’s Jakub Voracek for the scoring lead, with 29 points in Evgeni Malkin scored a pair of goals, including the winner and Kris Letang chipped in a pair of assists. Jason Zucker – The Wild winger scored a pair of goals and had 11 shot attempts (9 SOG) in Minnesota’s 4-1 win at Florida. The 22-year-old started the season on the fourth line, but is tied for second on the team with eight goals and, with seven coming at even-strength, his goals-per-60 production is among the best in the league. Among skaters with at least 200 5-on-5 minutes: 5-ON-5 GOALS PER 60 PLAYER TEAM GOAL/60 Rick Nash N.Y. Rangers 2.69 Tanner Pearson Los Angeles 2.17 Tomas Tatar Detroit 1.95 Tyler Seguin Dallas 1.94 Vladimir Tarasenko St. Louis 1.83 Jason Zucker Minnesota 1.74 Max Pacioretty Montreal 1.66 Nick Bonino Vancouver 1.66 Marcus Johansson Washington 1.65 Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay 1.65 ZEROES Laughton, Lecavalier – Both young and old Flyers forwards had trouble against the Islanders, getting less than 20% of the even-strength shot attempts. Laughton, playing in his fourth game of the season, was no the ice for four shot attempts for and 18 against (18.2%) and Lecavalier was barely better (4 for, 17 against, 19.1%). Jared Cowen – The Senators defenceman continues to struggle this season and, specifically, had aa rought night at Detroit, stuck in the defensive zone (3 shot attempts for, 17 against, 15.dddddddddddd0%) for most of the game. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Stephen Weiss – Scored a pair of goals for Detroit in a 4-3 win over Ottawa. It’s been a rough road for Weiss, who had three goals in 44 games since the start of the 2012-13 season, but he made the most of his opportunity to play alongside Darren Helm and Tomas Jurco. Jayson Megna – The 24-year-old winger made his season debut with the Penguins, playing 8:39 against Boston, with Zach Sill scratched from the lineup. Megna had 12 points (9 G, 3 A) in 17 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Alexander Khokhlachev – Played just 2:53 against Pittsburgh Monday, his third game of the season with the Bruins. SHORT SHIFTS Islanders G Jaroslav Halak stopped all 21 shots he faced against Philadelphia…Senators D Erik Karlsson and C Kyle Turris each had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 loss at Detroit. With 16 points in 20 games, Karlsson is tied for fourth in scoring among defencemen. FIRSTS Joe Morrow – Drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round in 2011, Morrow scored his first career NHL goal against Pittsburgh, for Boston, in the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime loss Monday. David Pastrnak – Called up to Boston, the 2014 first-round pick played 7:53 and had solid possession stats (9 shot attempts for, 4 against, 69.2%) in his small-sample NHL debut after scoring 18 points (5 G, 13 A) in 17 AHL games. FANTASY FOCUS There are seven games on the NHL schedule tonight. Here are some players that you may want to consider for your lineup: Jake Muzzin – The Kings blueline is on fire, with 10 points (1 G, 9 A) in the past eight games, after none in his first seven games of the season. Justin Schultz – It’s tough times around the Oilers these days and Schultz’s defensive issues remain a concern, but he’s also been a solid enough point producer with four in the past five games. Sam Gagner – Following a miserable start to the season, which included four points in his first 16 games, the Coyotes centre has five assists in the past six games and, with Martin Hanzal hurt, has played more than 19 minutes in each of the last three. Sami Vatanen – I’ve been beating this drum for most of the season, but the Ducks’ power play quarterback continues to produce, ranking third among defencemen with 18 points after posting 11 points (2 G, 9 A) in the past nine games. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' ' |
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