Clan-Members » fidential until its resolution, especially with the

NEW YORK -- It is called football, after all. And in Week 1 of the NFL season, the kicking game has been critical, from the season opener on Thursday night through the finale of Sundays first full day of action.Matt Prater knocked his 43-yard field goal through to lift Detroit past Indianapolis, his 13th winning or tying field goal with under 4:00 to play in the fourth quarter or in overtime.Chandler Catanzaro missed his potential winner from 47 after a bad snap, and New England escaped at Arizona.Mike Nugent came through for Cincinnati against his former Jets team, and Graham Gano failed for Carolina vs. Denver.Five kickers botched 33-yard extra points, though four of their teams won. The Jets Nick Folk, whod never missed a PAT in his 10-year NFL career, saw his string of 312 straight makes end. Plus, he had a field goal blocked in a 23-22 defeat.I feel like I let the team down, Folk admitted. If we make the extra point and the field goal, they need a touchdown at the end. That would have put us up six, so its just frustrating from my end.He gets an early chance to make up for it: We have a game in four days (at Buffalo), so we have to bounce back pretty quick.No kicker had more to bounce back from since last season than Minnesotas Blair Walsh. He infamously shanked a 27-yard field goal on the final play of a wild-card game against Seattle in January, and had to live with that memory until Sunday.Then he missed two field goals and an extra point at Nashville before snapping out of his funk and connecting on four field goals in a 25-16 win.Its nice to bounce back with four field goals, and we won the game, said Walsh, who was supported by coach Mike Zimmer afterward. They were important kicks. But, man, you want to take the drama out of it, thats for sure.There was enough kicking drama this week to fill a soap opera. Not all of it involved placekickers, either.Catanzaros wide-left boot came after a bad snap from rookie Kameron Canaday. That sparked the usual criticism from afar of the Cardinals for saving money on the position.Jaguars punter Brad Nortman landed consecutive kicks at the Green Bay 3 that flipped the field and helped Jacksonville take a 10-7 lead. Those punts didnt seem so significant at games end in Green Bays 27-23 win, but they helped keep the Jags in it early.A 17-yarder by Chargers rookie Drew Kaser certainly played a major role in San Diego blowing a 21-point lead at Kansas City and falling in overtime. The Chiefs took over at the San Diego 42 and marched to the tying touchdown.Chargers coach Mike McCoy didnt exactly distinguish himself by opting to have Josh Lambo try a 54-yard field goal on fourth-and-2 while up 27-10 earlier in the fourth quarter.No good.McCoy had been told by special teams coach Craig Aukerman that Lambo was crushing the ball.He had all the confidence in the world before the game, McCoy said of Lambo, so I had all of the confidence in the world, too.Saints rookie kicker Wil Lutz, a late signee after spending the preseason in Baltimore, was 2 for 4 on field goals and made his four extra points in a 35-34 loss to Oakland. And its hard to blame him for missing a desperation 61-yarder on the final play.Somewhat embarrassingly, though, Lutz and holder Thomas Morstead began hugging in celebration on that last kick before it faded short.For all of the made and missed field goals, the sublime and sickly punts, possibly the most noteworthy footwork in Week 1 came on kickoffs.With touchbacks now coming out to the 25-yard line instead of the 20, there is added incentive to pooch the kickoffs and have them drop inside the 5.Naturally, it was 2015 All-Pro Stephen Gostkowski doing the brilliant kicking for the Patriots.Four of his six kickoffs didnt enter the end zone, and Arizonas final drive started at the 8 (including a Cardinals penalty).Our kickoff team, we went into the game feeling like we had to make some field position plays in the kicking game, coach Bill Belichick said. You dont want to put their offense on a short field. If you can pile a few more yards onto the drive, hopefully it works in your favor. I know there was a lot of sentiment to eliminate that play, but those are the kinds of plays that are good strategy plays in football.Certainly, we had an opportunity to kick it out of the end zone on the last kickoff, but with a good field goal kicker, a good offense, good quarterback, we try to put them on as long a field as we could.Yep, keeping the foot in football.---AP Pro Football Writers Teresa M. Walker and Dave Campbell, and Sports Writers Bernie Wilson, Dave Skretta, Brett Martel, Kyle Hightower, Mark Long, Mike Marot, Noah Trister and Dennis Waszak Jr. contributed.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Jerseys 2020 . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- British cyclist Lizzie Armitstead insisted in a two-page statement Wednesday that she is a clean athlete and that three missed anti-doping tests in a 12-month period amounted to honest oversights.She released the statement one day after U.K. Anti-Doping confirmed the world road race champion had successfully appealed her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Armitstead faced a provisional suspension and two-year ban that could have kept her out of the Rio Olympics.The reigning silver medalist will lead Britains squad in Sundays road race.I love the sport and the values it represents. It hurts me to consider anybody questioning my performances, Armitstead wrote. I hate dopers and what they have done to sport.The 27-year-old Armitstead outlined the circumstances for each missed test, though she only argued the first miss before a World Cup race in Sweden last August should be thrown out. Armitstead said anti-doping officials had not followed proper procedure and CAS ultimately agreed.Armitstead explained that she was at the hotel she stated when anti-doping officials arrived, but that her phone was on silent and hotel staff refused to give the tester her room number.She was tested the following day and the test was negative.Armitstead said she contested the missed test with a written explanation after learning of it, but that the letter was not accepted before she traveled to the U.S. for last years world championships.Put simply, Armitstead said, I was available and willing to provide a sample for UKAD.Armitstead acknowledged fault in the other two missed tests. She called the October 2015 case a filing failure after anti-doping officials found an inconsistency in her overnight accommodations and her time slot during a routine spot check, and that her June 2016 missed test came after a last-minute change of plans following an unspecified family emergency.Last December, Armitstead met with UKAD and British Cycling officials to develop a supporrt plan to avoid another missed test.ddddddddddddBut a British Cycling official who was supposed to help Armitstead update her whereabouts plan had departed the organization without her knowing about it.If that failsafe was in place, Armitstead said, her third missed test could have been avoided.The World Anti-Doping Agency has tried to make it easier for athletes to update their whereabouts in recent years. Along with updating their time slots and whereabouts on a website, by email and text message, they can also have agents or representatives submit information on their behalf.Perhaps the biggest surprise in the case was that Armitstead and British Cycling were able to keep it confidential until its resolution, especially with the Rio Olympics beginning in a matter of days.Armitstead said she the reason it hadnt been discussed publicly was that I had the right to a fair trial at CAS. It is clear sensational headlines have a detrimental effect to any legal case.Now, she hopes to turn her attention fully toward competing in Rio.The road race course is considered one of the toughest in Olympics history, starting with a long, fast stretch away from Copacabana and along Rios coast. The race then heads into the hills with smaller climbs on the Grumari circuit before hard, steep ascents of Canoas and Vista Chinesa.Those back-to-back climbs are likely to be where the road race is won or lost.Armitstead is not a pure climber, but if she can survive the late-race hills, a fast run-in to the finish could give her another opportunity to claim the gold that narrowly eluded her four years ago.Integrity is something I strive for in every part of my life. I will hold my head high in Rio and do my best for Great Britain, Armitstead wrote. I am sorry for causing anyone to lose faith in sport. I am an example of what hard work and dedication can achieve. ' ' '