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ST. LOUIS -- Michael Sam got an extended look at defensive end in the St. Louis Rams preseason opener. Coach Jeff Fisher said thats where the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL will have his best shot at making the team. "Michael is a defensive end, OK? He plays defensive end with his hand down," Fisher said after a 26-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Friday night. "Theres a lot of talk with Mike being a tweener, maybe a standup pass rusher. Its rare to find a defensive end playing special teams in the NFL." Sam said his introduction to the NFL was "awesome," recalling thinking during the national anthem, "Wow, this is the big stage." But not too big. Sam, who was credited with one tackle and one quarterback hit, emerged with confidence. "You know, I can play in this league," Sam said. "I can play in this league." Sam was a seventh-round draft pick and hes attempting to launch his pro career a two-hour drive from where he starred on a 12-win Missouri team that played in the SEC title game last season. Sam shed weight to 257 pounds coming into training camp so hed be a viable special teams option on a team that already has a strong pass rush. Mark Ingram had eight carries for 83 yards and a 22-yard touchdown in the first half. "We wanted to come out here and start fast," Ingram said. "The line was just physical up front, got a lot of movement off the ball and created a lot of seams and holes for us to run through." Luke McCown started in place of Brees, limited by a left oblique injury for a week. First-round pick Brandin Cooks caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from third-stringer Ryan Griffin in the third quarter and had five receptions for 55 yards. "I know what Im coming into," Cooks said. "Im coming in with a great group of receivers. Ive got to come in and find my spot." Coach Sean Payton was non-committal about Brees chances of playing next Friday at home against the Titans. "Well be smart with his recovery. He certainly is smart enough, too," Payton said. "Look, it is an area that is affected every time that you throw, so its important that it is 100 per cent." Bradford was held out as a precaution coming off knee surgery. Shaun Hill got the start and threw two touchdown passes in the first half. Greg Zuerlein was barely wide left on a 59-yard field goal attempt on the final play after missing a 46-yard attempt with just under six minutes remaining. The Rams started both of their first-round picks, offensive lineman Greg Robinson and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Robinson, the second overall pick of the draft, started at left guard and also played left tackle. Attendance was announced at 54,850, about 12,000 shy of capacity at the Edward Jones Dome. The stadium appeared to be at less than half capacity not long after the opening kickoff and dwindled to perhaps one-third by the finish for the matchup between the Rams, whove had consecutive seven-win seasons under Fisher, and the 11-win Saints. Chris Long, the longtime starter at left end for St. Louis, intercepted McCown on the opening series to set up Cory Harkeys 16-yard touchdown catch. Sam began playing on the next series and made two nice plays in the second quarter, pressuring Griffin into an incompletion and getting a tackle. "Hes unpolished like a lot of rookies," Long said of Sam. "But he pleasantly surprised you when he went out in a game situation and played pretty well." Saints kicker Shayne Graham botched an extra-point kick from the longer distance being used the first two weeks of the preseason, hooking it off the left crossbar in the second quarter. NOTES: Rams TE Mason Brodine fractured his left ankle and is out for the season. ... Saints S Jairus Byrd, recovering from back surgery, did not play. Byrd attended high school in suburban Clayton when his father, Gill Byrd, was an assistant coach with the Rams. ... Saints RB Pierre Thomas did not play because of an undisclosed injury. ... Both teams hit triple digits in penalties, the Saints whistled 10 times for 104 yards and the Rams whistled 14 times for 118 yards. Jerome Baker Dolphins Jersey . Austin does not believe the game-time temperature is going to be an advantage for either side heading into the Grey Cup. "We dont think about (the cold)," said Austin. "Im not even sure how you would determine an advantage. Dan Marino Dolphins Jersey . - Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has signed with WME-IMG, saying the sports management powerhouse will help maximize the value of my brand. http://www.dolphinsteamauthenticshop.com...age-jersey.aspx. In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic stunned Canada, 5-4 in a shootout. Dominik Simon scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker. The United States scored its first three goals on power plays. "Overall, I love to see the power-play goals we were able to get tonight," said U. Dan Marino Jersey . -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice tweeted an apparent goodbye after a report about his pending release. Mike Gesicki Jersey . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday.SUNRISE, Fla. - It took a record effort by Sergei Bobrovsky to preserve a win for the Columbus Blue Jackets.Bobrovsky made a franchise-record and career-high 52 saves and Ryan Johansen scored the winning goal in a shootout to lift the Blue Jackets to a 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.He (Bobrovsky) stole this one, without question, Columbus coach Todd Richards said. He was tremendous in the game. Hes the only reason why we got two points.Boone Jenner, Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno scored in regulation for the Blue Jackets.Nick Bjugstad had two goals and an assist for the Panthers. Tomas Fleischmann had a goal and an assist and Roberto Luongo made 17 saves.Johansens shot went over Luongos right shoulder in the fourth round of the shootout for the only score in the tiebreaker.The 55 shots were a season-high for the Panthers and also the most ever given up by Columbus. Bobrovsky also stopped four shootout attempts.I?cant remember most of the shots, Bobrovsky said Were happy to get the two points. Its important for us.Bobrovsky was forced to face so many shots because the Blue Jackets offence disappeared after scoring early in the second.Bobrovsky stole us a couple of points tonight. We definitely didnt deserve to win, Johansen said. Right now we need points and we got two points, so well take them.Leading 2-0, the Blue Jackets stretched their lead to three early in the second on Jenners goal. Luongo blocked a shot by Atkinson but Jenner fired in the rebound at 51 seconds.After that, the Blue Jackets were outshot 38-7 in the second and third periods.I?think we had the momentum for the first couple of minutes (in the second period)?and it seemed like we just kind of fell asleep, Atkinson said. Thank God for (Bobrovsky).The Blue Jackets won for the second time in eight gaames and stretched their win streak against Florida to 10 games.dddddddddddd The Panthers havent beaten Columbus since Nov. 21, 2007.(We are) disappointed, but were down 3-0 and we battled back and we played a (heck of a) last two periods, Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. We really dominated and took control of the game and their goalie had to make some huge saves to get them the win. Anytime you get 55 shots you should win the game. It didnt happen tonight.The Panthers scored three goals in a span of 4:37 in the second period to tie it.Fleischmann scored on a 2-on-1 at 2:54. Jonathan Huberdeau passed across to Fleischmann in the right circle and his slap shot went over Bobrovskys left shoulder to get Florida on the scoreboard.Bjugstad scored the next two goals. His soft wrist shot got past Bobrovsky at 5:04 to make it 3-2. Bjugstads second goal came during a power play as his shot from the left side of the net hit a Columbus players skate and went in at 7:31 to tie it.We came back, did a good job, said Bjugstad, who leads the Panthers with 10 goals. Everyone bought in there in those last two periods.The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead 1:07 into the game. Dalton Prout shot from the point and the puck bounced out. Foligno took the loose puck, skated around the net and scored on a wraparound.The Blue Jackets went ahead 2-0 later in the first on a breakaway by Atkinson. The puck got by a Panthers defenceman and Atkinson grabbed the puck, skated in on Luongo, and beat him gloveside at 9:51.NOTES: Panthers C Aleksander Barkov missed his second game with a hand injury. ... The Panthers acquired D Jesse Blacker from the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday for D Colby Robak. ... Bobrovsky is 8-1 in his career against Florida. ... Jenners goal was his second in two games against the Panthers. ' ' '