ST. LOUIS -- Michael Sam was probably never an ideal fit with the St. Louis Rams and it had absolutely nothing to do with his sexual orientation. Theyre just too well-stocked at defensive end, Sams position. Sam showed up for his face-to-face exit meeting with coach Jeff Fisher Sunday, a few hours after clearing waivers. He arrived via the media entrance at Rams Parka still looking right at home clad in a T-shirt, shorts and flip flops. He shook hands with two reporters and accepted well wishes but declined further comment before heading upstairs to see the coach who wasnt afraid to add the first openly gay player to the roster. Or to cut him loose. Fisher said numerous times during his post cutdown-day news conference Saturday that releasing the SEC co-defensive player of the year was a "football decision." Sam was outplayed in the preseason by Ethan Westbrooks, the Rams top target when signing undrafted free agents. The coach pointed out four other late-round picks were released, and thought it a sign the franchise is on the upswing. There were no regrets. Fisher and Sam both said it was never a distraction, and the coach believed that would be the case if Sam landed with another team. "There were no issues, thats the thing," Fisher said. "No issues in the team meeting room, on the field, anyplace." All 21 players released Saturday cleared waivers. "Some may be coming back," Fisher said. "You may see them Sunday on the practice squad, and some you may never ever see again." The meeting with Sam was postponed a day so he could attend Missouris opening victory over South Dakota State. The Rams appeared unlikely to re-sign Sam to the 10-player practice squad because the defensive line is their strongest unit. Sam had three sacks, one more than Westbrook. But most of the preseason, he was playing with the second- and third-stringers. Westbrooks was the Division II defensive player of the year when he had 19 1-2 sacks for West Texas A&M, a school the Rams tapped a few years earlier for quarterback Keith Null. "He was very productive and played all four spots," Fisher said. "He is a very, very talented young player that I think has a really good future." Fisher noted only one defensive lineman had more preseason snaps than Sam, so he got a full shot. And that there were more than enough pass rushers with Robert Quinn and Chris Long starting plus productive backups William Hayes and Eugene Sims. Tackles Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald, the latter a first-round pick this year, also are sack threats. "Its the strength of our team," Fisher said, adding carrying nine defensive linemen was a "significant number." "If you go with 10, then youre going to be short someplace else, and were just not there." Theyre not as deep in the secondary, minus cornerback Trumaine Johnson (knee) for probably the first month. They need numbers at linebacker, with just five on the roster. Backup centre-guard Barrett Jones is sidelined indefinitely after back surgery. Cheap Adidas Shoes . The Detroit Tigers star had microfracture surgery Friday to repair the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee. "I dont want to say it was a surprise," team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. Adidas Wholesale China . -- Theres been so much talk about Mike Moustakas at the plate that the third baseman ignored the conversation Wednesday -- even after doing something positive. http://www.wholesaleadidasshoes.com/. His stated reason for abruptly resigning as head coach of Canadas Olympic womens hockey team was he felt there were doubts about his ability to coach the team to Olympic gold in February. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online .Brothers B.J. and Justin Upton each homered and had an outfield assist, and the Braves held on for a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night. Adidas Clearance Sale . Moments after scoring and setting off another wild celebration at Minsk arena, Platt leapt into the arms of Belarusian captain Alexei Kalyuzhny.Calgary FlamesIn the eyes of many people, the Calgary Flames were the closest Canadian team to winning the Cup since the Habs won it in 1993. What a great run they had in the 2004 Playoffs as the entire city of Calgary seemed to be behind them. The great play of Jarome Iginla, Craig Conroy and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff carried the Flames throughout the playoffs. After knocking off the Canucks in the first round, the Flames pulled off a huge upset, beating the Presidents Trophy-winning Red Wings in the second round. The sky was the limit for the Flames after taking down the Wings, and they almost came through. After beating San Jose in the Conference Final, they would square off against the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Cup. The Flames jumped out to a 3-2 series lead, but would devastatingly lose the final two games of the series, making the Lightning the 2004 Stanley Cup champions. The Flames were ridiculously close to winning the cup considering the series went the distance, and both game 6 and game 7 losses were one-goal games. There was also a controversial call in Game 6 where Flames forward Martin Gelinas looked to score a late goal to break a 2-2 tie, but it did not count. Replays showed that the puck did cross the line:The Flames were awfully close, and if a couple calls went their way, they couldve been the latest Canadian team to win a cup.Vancouver CanucksIts hard to forget the spirited run the Vancouver Canucks put together during the 2011 playoffs. The Canucks were actually a cup favorite, as they would finish first in the league and win the Presidents Trophy. They carried over their great regular season play over to the playoffs, knocking off the Blackhawks, Predators, and the Sharks in the opening three rounds. Players like the Sedins, Kesler, Burrows, and Bieksa were the anchors of their success. Luongo definitely struggled at times during the playoffs but ended up having a solid performance overall, recording four shutouts. The Canucks would face off against the Boston Bruins for the Stanley Cup, but after jumping out to a 3-2 series lead, they would eventually lose the series in 7 games. With so much on the line, it was surprising to see thee Canucks lose 4-0 in the seventh game in a pretty slow paced game.dddddddddddd It was still a great run, and the furthest the Canucks would get in the Luongo era. You can check out a tribute to their run here:Edmonton OilersThe Oilers arguably had the most exciting playoff run out of any Canadian team since the Habs won it all in 1993. In 2006, the Oilers qualified for the playoffs as the eighth and final seed of the Western Conference. They were underdogs all the way through, but they just kept winning. First they took down the Presidents Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings. They would then beat the Sharks in the second round and easily knock off the Ducks in the Conference Final in just five games. All of a sudden, the eighth seeded Oilers were in the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes. Chris Pronger, Shawn Horcoff, Fernando Pasani, Ales Hemsky, and Ryan Smyth were some of the key pieces that carried the Oilers to the Cup Final. But nobody on the roster was more important than their goalie, Dwayne Roloson, who caught fire during the post-season. Roloson ended the playoffs with a .927 save percentage, but would unfortunately injure himself in the opening game of the Cup Final. Jussi Markkanen would start for the Oilers the rest of the way, and although he played fine, he did not bring the same quality of goaltending that Roloson brought. The Oilers would not be able to take down Cam Ward and the Hurricanes, as they would lose in seven games in a close series. It was fun to watch as they over-achieved with their underdog status and as many Oilers fans will tell you; you never know what could have happened if Roloson did not get hurt. You can see the Roloson injury here:So there you have it. Canadas Western Conference teams have gotten much closer to the Cup than the Eastern Conference teams since the Habs Cup win in 1993. The Winnipeg Jets just rejoined the league so they are yet to have a noteworthy run. Youve seen the East, and now youve seen the West.