INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Sam needed no introduction. Ray Nitschke Jersey . He provided one anyway, subtly spelling out his desire to be known simply as a football player whose sexuality isnt a national story. "Good afternoon. My name is Michael Sam. I play football for the University of Missouri," he said to commence his first public appearance since announcing hes gay. Sam smiled and laughed often during a 12 1/2-minute news conference at Lucas Oil Stadium, looking relaxed, jovial and confident while taking questions from the hundreds of reporters surrounding the podium. Despite credentials that include the Southeastern Conference co-defensive player of the year award, Sam is projected only as a mid-round pick in the draft in May. Hes 6-foot-2 and 260 pounds, falling somewhere between a defensive end in a 4-3 scheme and an outside linebacker in a 3-4 system. Where he winds up, Sam said he doesnt care. "Im a pass rusher. If you put me in a situation to get the quarterback, Im going to get the quarterback. Whoever coaches or GMs, this league is a passing league. Id like to believe in myself as a good pass rusher," Sam said. Hes not worried about being accepted, either, in light of the bullying scandal that emerged in Miami. "If the Miami Dolphins drafted me I would be excited to be a part of that organization," Sam said. "But Im not afraid of going into that environment. I know how to handle myself. I know how to communicate with my teammates. I know how to communicate with the coaches and other staff I need to communicate with." Mostly, Sam wants to communicate this: "I just wish you guys would just see me as Michael Sam the football player instead of Michael Sam the gay football player." His former Missouri teammates certainly did. "Hes happy with who he is. He doesnt shy away from who he is. Mike Sam has got a lot of personality. Hes a great guy. Hes not going to be any different than who he is every day," said wide receiver LDamian Washington, one of several ex-Tigers stars here for the NFLs annual scouting combine. If Sam were to slip down the draft board, determining a bias against his orientation or a fear of the potential distraction would be near impossible. If teams pass on him, theyre likely unsure how his combination of size and speed fits with their defence. "You only need one team. One team that believes in you. Theres 32 teams. You need one team," Washington said. Coaches and executives around the league were asked often this weekend for their thoughts on how Sam would fit, both on the field and in the locker room. "He would be welcomed, no different than any other player we have," New York Jets coach Rex Ryan said, adding: "The big thing we always talk about is respect in our locker room." Packers Hats . -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby. Paul Hornung Jersey . This time, it was Eric Chavezs turn. Stuck in a rut since coming off the disabled list, Chavez hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning for a run-scoring single, sending the Diamondbacks to another walk-off victory, 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night. TORONTO -- While most of those in the stands undoubtedly recoiled when they saw Andersons Silvas gruesome leg break Saturday night at UFC 168 in Las Vegas, Steven Sanders had a different thought cageside. "The only question I had in my mind was how low down on the leg was the fracture," the UFCs orthopedic surgeon recalled in a media conference call Monday. "Because the level of the fracture influences my thinking as to what type of orthopedic device Im going to need to fix it. "But the minute it occurred, Im sitting there going Thats fixable." Amazingly, less than 48 hours after surgery to insert a titanium rod and three screws in his left tibia, the 38-year-old Brazilian was up on crutches, accorded to the surgeon. "Its amazing because I dont know if I would be able to do it that quickly," said Sanders. And the surgeon said Silvas question prior to the operation was when could he train again. Still the former middleweight champion is spending most of his time in his hospital bed, at this stage, with his leg in a posterior splint. "Hes behaving as anyone would who had just broke both their bones violently and then had a 11.5-millimetre-diameter rod stuck down the intramedullary canal of your tibia. It hurts quite a bit," Sanders said. The fighter is expected to stay in hospital for a few more days and faces a long recovery before he could compete in the cage again. But Sanders says Silva will eventually be able to resume mixed martial arts. The surgeon expects the fighters fractures to heal in three to six months, with a time frame of six to nine months before trying to resume training. "The expectation is positive," Sanders said. Silva (33-6) will be able to do some rehab work, to put some weight on the leg "in the near future as we get though this acute pain phase." Saturdays fight was stopped at 1:16 of the second round, with current middleweight champion Chris Weidman declared the winner as doctors attended to a writhing Silva. Silva broke both the tibia and fibula in his lower left leg kicking Weidman in the main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Weidman checked the kick, meaning Silva went bone-one-bone. His leg snapped about a third of the way up the tibia from the ankle, causing his essentially untethered ankle and foot to swing around Weidmans leg in an stomach-churning moment. Silva, who up until his upset loss to Weidman in July at UFC 162 was considered the top pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, collapsed in agony. Sanders called it "horrific pain." Sanders said Dr. Anthony Ruggeroli immediately realigned the limb and applied traction, helping prevent the injuryy from getting worse. Dave Robinson Packers Jersey. Silva was stretchered outside the cage under the direction of Dr. Jeff Davidson and taken to a waiting ambulance, which transported him to University Medical Centre Hospital, a Level 1 trauma centre. The operation lasted about an hour, with the rod inserted into his leg at the front of the knee, with a screw at the top and two at the bottom to stabilize the bone. While the fibula was also broken, Sanders elected not to operate on that bone because it would have required an incision at the site of the break, opening Silva up to the risk of infection -- among other reasons. Sanders says the fibula could heal on its own, adding he saw no evidence from X-rays there was an predisposition to a break. The surgeon called Silvas fracture "fairly severe," given the fact that the skin was essentially holding the leg together. That means the tissues that normally surround the bone, and help with the healing, have undergone trauma. The soft tissue recovery is "more of a variable" than the bone repair, said Sanders. The injury, while horrific to watch, could have been worse, with Sanders listing off the elements of a worse case scenario -- a break near the joint, the skin breaking, tearing a blood vessel challenging blood supply to the foot. "Unfortunately in my line of work, things can always sometimes be worse," he said. That includes "limb-threatening" if the fracture compromises vascular support to the foot. Silvas dramatic injury -- which Sanders pithily described as "an abnormal bend in the leg at a place where its not supposed to bend" -- was "extremely close" to being much worse On the plus side, the straight nature of the break will help in rehab, since a spiral fracture can "unwind." And the surgeon said the rehab wont be as intense as when fighters injure knee ligaments. The titanium rod can be removed at a later date or can stay in Silvas leg, Sanders added. "For whatever reason, humans like titanium." Sanders has worked with the UFC for more than a decade and has practised in Las Vegas since 1991, working with boxers prior to MMA fighters. Sivas injury recalled that of Corey Hill, who broke his leg while throwing a kick that was checked by Dale Hartt on a UFC card in December 2008. Hill returned to action in January 2010 and has gone 4-3 since, although not in the UFC. UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones said Silvas injury will not change his approach to fighting. "No Andersons last fight will not change my psychology towards kicking at all, that was just an extremely unfortunate situation," Jones tweeted. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '