Like a rock: Michael Sam carries a souvenir one after a University of Missouri win over Texas A & M.
Kudos to Michael Sam and the St. Louis Rams, who’ve decided to take a chance on one another. Sam, the University of Missouri defensive end who came out before deciding to test the NFL Draft, was the 249th pick overall, with just seven left before the final round. But hey, he got in, celebrating with tears and a kiss for his partner that went viral. (I, of course, have been following this story with great interest as my upcoming novel “In This Place You Hold Me,” the second in my series “The Games Men Play,” is about a quarterback’s search for identity – sexual, racial, familial and national – in the beautiful, brutal world of the NFL.)
Sam asked to be judged on his merits, and, to their credit, the NFL and the Rams have done just that. Let’s hope his teammates and opponents, the press and we fans can do the same.
And forget March Madness. They should call this merry month May Madness. You’ve got the Draft, baseball heating up, the basketball and hockey playoffs, swimming, the Preakness May 17 and, sandwiched between that and the Belmont, the French Open.
Throw in the end of the fall-winter arts season, graduations, weddings, Holy Communions and Mother’s and Memorial days: It’s a whirl.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way.