p winner happily relaxing in front of the fire. But when Delhi Daredevils waved their auction paddle for the relatively modest price of US$350,000, he was headed back to India like a parent stumbling into a teenage rave. Initially it was a riot - he popped 14 wickets in 12 games of a succe

The idea was to put some excitement into NFL extra points. On Sunday, it became unwise to head to the fridge when the kickers came in.A dozen times in Week 11, those 1-pointers became no-pointers. Blame the swirling winds. Blame the suspect blocking. Blame sloppy holding.Or point fingers at the toes of Mike Nugent and Robbie Gould, who each missed a pair of PATs. Not to mention Stephen Gostkowski and Steven Hauschka. Connor Barth and Kai Forbath. Matt Prater and Cody Parkey. And Jason Myers, who failed on seven extra points last season -- yep, seven -- and still kept his job with the Jaguars.It just drives me crazy to have a poor performance that contributes to a loss, said Nugent, whose Bengals fell 16-12 to Buffalo. Had he made both extra points, a field goal late in the game could have won it for Cincinnati.Thats the second time thats happened this year, that Ive contributed enormously to a loss. If I did what I was brought here to do, wed have two less losses, in my opinion.Several kickers noted they were compensating for the wind, particularly the Giants Gould and the Bears Barth, who coincidentally replaced the veteran Gould in Chicago this season. Kicking in the Meadowlands has never been a picnic, and conditions figure to get worse there and in many other NFL cities as the schedule moves along.But one of the main reasons for bringing in veteran kickers -- Myers is in his second pro season, Hopkins and Parkey their third, but the rest are pretty seasoned NFLers -- is their ability to handle such challenges, mentally and physically.They failed in record numbers Sunday.The first one I hit was where I was hitting them in pregame, Gould said. I thought I made it and it went outside the left upright. The second one I just didnt hit a good ball. Today was tough, but I have to make them.His coach, Ben McAdoo, was giving Gould the benefit of the doubt.It was a tough day to kick the football, McAdoo admitted, also knowing it was his decision to bring in Gould after the Giants waived Josh Brown in October following revelations about his abusive behavior toward his former wife.Well go back, well look at it, well talk about everything. The wind obviously was a factor every time you had a play in the kicking game today.That was not the case in Detroit. Ford Field is indoors, yet Prater and Myers had misses.So whats going on when a two-time All-Pro such as Gostkowski misses three PATs in the last five games? Or Hauschka has an extra-point kick blocked in successive games?Not to mention perhaps the play of the year last weekend, when Denver ran back a blocked extra point against New Orleans for a defensive 2-point conversion that won the game?A 33-yard kick should be automatic for virtually every NFL kicker, yet we know, 12 times over on Sunday, that is not true.Among the factors contributing are pressure, over-analysis, poor mechanics, weak blocking and, well, bad luck.Before last year, when the new rule placed the ball at the 15 for extra-point kicks, little thought or preparation was needed for such chip shots. Now, kickers -- and holders, snappers and blockers -- do need to think about the kicks. But they dont get a whole bunch of extra practices on them.Kickers traditionally are a quirky bunch. That isnt necessarily a bad thing; just look at how successful Sebastian Janikowski has been for the Raiders.But they also are prone to thinking too hard about kicks. Why else would opposing coaches try to ice them?Bad weather, particularly slippery surfaces and wind, have a huge effect. A wet ball is much harder to boot accurately, as well as more difficult to snap and hold. Uncertain footing plagues kickers legs and psyches.As for the wind, thats the enemy of everyone but defenders on a football team.So those excuses sometimes work, though, again, not in the friendly kicking confines of a dome.The biggest issue for kickers comes when they get in a rut. Unlike other positions that require deep knowledge of a playbook, kickers and punters are much more on their own. When placekickers cant find the middle of the uprights, they usually find themselves on their own and off the roster.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL.Discount NCAA Jerseys . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Cheap NCAA Jerseys Online . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. http://www.cheapncaajerseyscustom.com/ . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. Discount NCAA Jerseys . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Stitched NCAA Football Jerseys . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4.v West Indies, May 2003Glenn McGrath was often in a flap with head-shaking curses, but on day four at the Antigua Recreation Ground he was off the Pigeon scale. His wife, Jane, was suffering with cancer back home and a grumpy McGrath was at the other end of the world, watching a Test match slip away. So he sledged Ramnaresh Sarwan, asking in rather graphic terms about his relationship with Brian Lara. Sarwans reply took in McGraths wife, apparently unaware of the seriousness of her condition. McGrath simmered, calling in umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan as he collected his cap, and the argument appeared settled. But in between overs something snapped and McGrath had a meltdown of tired-toddler proportions. He strode towards Sarwan, pointing and shouting: If you ****ing mention my wife again, Ill ****ing rip your ****ing throat out.Surprisingly, the yelling did not gain the frown of the match referee, but the reaction in Australia was severe. Critics complained it was another example of the ugly Australians under Steve Waughs captaincy, especially when they were losing. West Indies won the Test, with Sarwans century helping West Indies in their record chase of 418. A couple of days after the match McGrath reflected on how he had been trying to remain calmer on the field. Its something that I have worked on quite a bit, especially since becoming a father, he said. I am a little bit disappointed in myself that I did do it.v England, November 1994 Even masters dont always find things easy in the beginning. McGrath had been dropped after his first Test against New Zealand a year earlier and after going wicketless in the opening Ashes encounter, was cut again. Then a skinny 24-year-old, he was still trying to hone the consistency that would take him towards all-time greatness. Steve Waugh, who would later captain McGrath during an all-conquering reign, noticed the early insecurity. In his autobiography Waugh said McGrath struggled to feel comfortable until enough faith in his potential was shown by the selectors. The chairman, Laurie Sawle, and his panel were certainly not convinced of McGraths powers when he faced England for the first time at the Gabba. There were no breakthroughs in his 29 overs across the match, although it was a little tricky to organise a decent look at the batsmen with Shane Warne capturing 11 victims in the 184-run triumph.Still, this was the first of only five times in 124 Tests that McGrath did not take a wicket - and the one occasion when the punishment was the axe. After being 12th man for three games, McGrath had learned his lesson and England never saw him as an easy target again. In the final Test, in Perth, he dismissed the captain Michael Atherton in both innings, initiating a hex that would end with 19 dismissals in 17 matches. Those six wickets at the WACA were also the first of 157 against the old enemy.v England, August 2005 Never has a stray ball caused so much pain. McGraths slip and twist of an ankle at Edgbaston really turned Ashes history. Australia were leading the series after their 239-run walkover in the opening Test at Lords and it seemed the contest would follow the same striking pattern as over the previous 16 years. Ricky Pontings squad arrived at the ground half an hour earlier than expected, leaving the players to mess about on the outfield before the formal warm-up. A rugby ball was picked up and the reserve wicketkeeper, Brad Haddin, started passing it to McGrath. All normal so far. But Haddin then threw one that bounced in front of McGrath and went past him. He turned to pick it up but did not see a cricket ball that had been placed on the ground by an Australian coach in ppreparation for throwing drills.dddddddddddd After one false step, McGrath was on the ground with a sharp pain. Im in a bad way here, he thought, before a scan confirmed a ligament tear in his right ankle.To continue the chaos, Ponting won the toss and sent England in. By the end of the day the relieved hosts were 407, having rattled along at more than five an over. On the final morning, McGraths replacement, Michael Kasprowicz, was last man out, giving a buoyant and disbelieving England victory by two runs. Australias limp remained throughout the rest of the series.v Sri Lanka, January 1996 Few line-ups were able to shake McGrath from his suffocating control for long but the Sri Lankans, turbo-charged by the tiny Romesh Kaluwitharana, managed it during a volatile tri-series. Tall and precise, McGrath struggled against agile and innovative opponents, who were in the process of transforming from international minnows to World Cup winners. It was a spiteful summer, starting with Muttiah Muralitharan being called for throwing in the Boxing Day Test, and finishing with the squads not shaking hands when Australia won the one-day tournament at the SCG. McGrath was involved with ball and lip, including during the embarrassment of suffering the worst bowling figures in Australias limited-overs history at the time. Kaluwitharana had been providing a dose of rocket power since being promoted to open, and in the final preliminary match at the MCG he locked on to McGrath.McGrath removed Sanath Jayasuriya early but he was blasted for 76 in 9.4 overs, with Kaluwitharana responsible for much of the damage.Robert Craddock, writing in the Courier Mail, said it was Cyclone Kaluwitharana who sucked up McGrath and tossed him back to earth. So strong was Kaluwitharanas hitting during the series that the captain, Mark Taylor, said Australias bowlers were probably intimidated by it. Kaluwitharanas 74 off 68 deliveries pushed Sri Lanka to their second win of the series over Australia, and signalled their rise ahead of their imminent World Cup success. For McGrath, these figures would remain his worst in coloured clothes.Delhi Daredevils, IPL, 2009 The IPL arrived too late for McGrath, who only just made it on the T20 ride at all. While he had performed in the inaugural, light-hearted international bow of the format, in New Zealand in 2005, he quickly re-focused on extending his career in the more traditional arenas. When the IPL exploded onto the scene, McGrath had already been retired for a year, a three-time World Cup winner happily relaxing in front of the fire. But when Delhi Daredevils waved their auction paddle for the relatively modest price of US$350,000, he was headed back to India like a parent stumbling into a teenage rave. Initially it was a riot - he popped 14 wickets in 12 games of a successful opening campaign - but then it became, like, totes ridiculous. Aged 39, one of the worlds greatest fast bowlers suffered the humiliation of not being picked at all in the second season. It has been hard to be a part of the bench, and I was hoping for a game during the league stage, he wrote in his Hindustan Times column. Fitness was listed as a significant issue, but in reality the game had grown beyond him. Instead of dominating the contest, he was forced to watch younger mortals such as Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra, Pradeep Sangwan and Aavishkar Salvi fill his place. After a couple of low-key appearances in the Champions League Twenty20, he returned to Australia and slid back into a much more dignified retirement. ' ' '