Inspiration Friday - OutSports carries a stirring story (originally published on Discourse) about an All-American varsity lacrosse goalie at Dartmouth who came out last year. Starting senior Goldstein is no slouch B-team player, either:

Last season, in a game at Syracuse, I was able to experience something that no straight goaltender was able to do in the last 20-something years of Division I lacrosse: I made a save and ran down the other end for a goal. As I ran back to my end of the field, I high-fived teammates and I looked up into the stands during the only game my brother, sister, and parents have all been to, and I thought to myself, I guess it takes a gay goalie to have enough balls to score in the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse, for those who don't know, is a dynasty in NCAA lacrosse. Wow. I'm gonna have to remember to check on this guy's progress with Big Green come springtime.

And in a follow-up to its article about growing up as a young gay cowboy in a small, religious Oklahoma town, the Washington Post checks in on Michael Shackelford, finding that his evangelical church and his high school rallied around him recently when Fred Phelps' clan came calling. The sentiment of one classmate set the tone: "Leave our homos alone." As at Dartmoth, proof that the world -- in the guise of the younger generation -- really is changing.