04-19-2019, 02:28 AM
INDIANAPOLIS - Adam Vinatieris greying temples and greyer beard reveal one part of his remarkable career. At age 41, he is the NFLs oldest player.Hes not slowing down.Nine years after the leagues best clutch kicker made the surprising move to leave New England and sign with rival Indianapolis, Vinatieri is still finding ways to kick it in a young mans world.At his age, he could probably just leave practice and say See you on Sunday. But Vinnie works just as much now as he did when he was 25 years old, teammate Pat McAfee said. The reason he is so good and can be so good for however long he wants to be is his work ethic.McAfee was 9 years old when Vinatieri was a rookie in 1996.Over five seasons as Vinatieris understudy, the Colts punter and kickoff specialist says Vinatieri has advised him on everything from how to eat right to finding the proper balance between football and life. McAfee believes those life lessons have helped him thrive, and remain the primary reason Vinatieri seems to be on the cusp of milestones every week.The next chapter could come Sunday night when Vinatieri will try to become the first player in league history with 17 seasons of 100 points. He needs eight points to break a tie with Jason Elam, and it would be a fitting moment as the Patriots (7-2) and Colts (6-3) renew their rivalry.Hes as good of a kicker, good of a clutch kicker, and consistent kicker thats probably ever been in the game, New England coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday. Mentally, hes as tough as they come in terms of concentration, focus, discipline, blocking out all the things that he cant control and just doing his job.Vinatieri, after all, made decisive last-minute field goals in each of New Englands three Super Bowl wins. He earned his fourth Super Bowl ring in his first season with Indy. He made two equally memorable field goals during a New England blizzard, to tie and then beat Oakland, as the Pats made their first title run.Last month, he became first NFL player to score 900 points with two franchises and hes just 60 points away from making it an even 1,000 with both teams. With two points Sunday, hell also join Morten Andersen, Gary Anderson and Jason Hanson as the only players to reach 2,100 career points.Things havent changed much this year. Vinatieri is 32 of 32 on extra points and 20 of 20 on field goals. His current streak of 26 consecutive field goals made is the third longest in franchise history.But Vinatieris legacy cannot be measured purely by numbers.Hes played for Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, Hall of Fame finalist Tony Dungy and, of course, Belichick. Hes played with three No. 1 overall draft picks -- Drew Bledsoe, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck -- in addition to certain Hall of Famer Tom Brady. He also played for the defunct World League of American Football long ago.Not all of his moments have been memorable. His Super Bowl kickoff against Green Bay in 1997, returned for a touchdown by Desmond Howard, has appeared in the NFLs Hall of Fame. It made Howard the only special teams player to ever win the MVP award.Vinatieri put that behind him long ago. An avid hunter, he also learned at a young age about the necessity of maintaining a steady heart rate before taking a shot.Backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck saw how good he truly is when Vinatieri popped in a video of a lion hunt in Africa. As Vinatieri tracked the animal, the guide started explaining it was no longer safe.I feel like Im pretty unflinchable and my heart was racing, Hasselbeck said. I remember thinking, Theres no way a field goal is going to get his heart racing.Teammates dont just respect Vinatieri for his experiences. Theyve given him one of the rarest titles a kicker can attain, locker room leader.Not surprisingly, Vinatieri doesnt let the milestones, the nickname, the honours or the buzz get in the way of what he does best. Thats how he got a foothold in the NFL. And thats how he intends to keep it until he leaves, on his terms.Its been a lot of fun, he said. There have been so many great moments throughout my career -- the first time you win the Super Bowl is something you dream about as a kid. The Snow Bowl game was fun. Tackling Herschel Walker as rookie was great fun.When you get to my age, you focus on staying healthy and staying productive, he added. If thats a year or three years, I dont know. Im not putting a time on it.___Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Paul Stastny Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey . -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied the last three holes and five of the final six Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Mi Jung Hur in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/...-jersey/.Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. Brad Hunt Jersey . "Back in 2011, when they announced that the game was coming here, we knew that it was going to be pretty important that we had a good year and hopefully could get into it, let alone win it, so I felt some pressure obviously within for sure," Taman said Monday, less than 24 hours after the Riders won the championship. Alex Tuch Jersey . CNN and Gazzetta dello Sport reporter Tancredi Palmeri broke the news via Twitter Tuesday afternoon. Italian Football Association President Giancarlo Abete has also resigned, according to Palmeri.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Bills quarterback EJ Manuel has no intention of taking the first benching of his career sitting down.Manuel on Thursday accepted his demotion as something he has to live with and acknowledged having plenty of room to develop. More importantly, the 2013 first-round draft pick plans to work harder to improve his game and vowed Im not going to hold myself back when the next opportunity to start presents itself.I just want to cut it loose, man, Manuel said in his first comments since losing the starting job to veteran backup Kyle Orton on Monday. I think at some point in your career, when youre mad or you just want to open up, you just go out there and let it rip. You dont worry about the repercussions.And, he added: If something happens, at least you went down guns loaded or guns blowing or whatever.Manuels failure to let it rip was among the key reasons behind his demotion, which came after two consecutive losses dropped Buffalos record to 2-2.Manuel was knocked for being hesitant, struggling with his accuracy and having difficulty finding open receivers downfield.The last straw came in a 23-17 loss at Houston on Sunday, when Manuel went 21 of 44 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Though he completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams, Manuels next longest completion was a short pass over the middle to Fred Jackson, who turned it into a 14-yard gain.Manuels first interception was costly. Texans defensive end J.J. Watt returned it 80 yards for a momentum-swinging touchdown that put Houston ahead 14-10 early in the second half.A day later, coach Doug Marrone handed the job to Orton, who will make his debut as Buffalos starter at Detroit (3-1) on Sunday.ddddddddddddIt is a tough pill to swallow, Manuel said. But at the same time, Im going to always be positive with myself. And I still believe Im a good football player. And I know theres tons of room for me to grow, and Ill get there.The question is when.Orton has quickly made a good impression with his teammates two days into practice.Receivers Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods both noted Orton for having a quicker release and how he immediately established a presence in the huddle.The demotion is the latest setback for Manuel, whose development was stunted already by three separate knee injuries that limited him to playing just 10 games last year. Its also a setback for the Bills, who were counting on Manuel to grow into a position thats been mostly unsettled since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season.Manuel, who led Florida State to four bowl victories, was the first quarterback taken in the 2013 draft when the Bills selected him 16th overall.He refused to allow the benching to be a distraction for him or the team.The teams bigger than I am. And whatever (Marrone) feels is best to help the team, well go with it, Manuel said. Im not going to be one of those guys around here moping.Hes also confident he will bounce back.When I am back out there, I want to be a different player, Manuel said. I think in the long run, Ill look back at it as something I can say that helped build me, and helped me become a stronger man.___AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '