practices on them.Kickers traditionally are a quirky bunch. That isnt necessaril

The Sydney Kings have appointed reigning MVP Kevin Lisch as team captain for the 2016-17 NBL season.The US-born Lisch, who represented his adopted country for the first time at the Rio Olympics, is thrilled by the announcement.Im extremely honoured. With this title comes a great responsibility, Lisch said in a statement.I respect the tradition of the Sydney Kings enormously and I look forward to be able to lead and follow my teammates at the same time, to achieve our mission.I want everyone to feel like theyre a leader and contribute their input. Im looking forward to this year from a personal perspective but also as a team because we have such great talent and really great people.New Kings coach Andrew Gaze said it was a collective decision but one that was an easy one after watching the leadership qualities has brought to the franchise since his move from the Illawarra Hawks.This was a choice that was made by the entire group, Gaze said.With Kevins experience, the way hes conducted himself here at the Kings and the fact hes one of the premier players in the competition combined with the respect he has amongst the group, we couldnt be happier that hes going to be our captain for this season.Lisch only arrived at Sydney after signing a long-term deal in April but the star guard has quickly made a strong impression at all levels of the organisation.Kevin Lisch has had an amazing career in the NBL to this point and has won multiple MVP awards,?Kings Managing Director Jeff Van Groningen said.This year he earned a roster spot with the Australian Boomers at the Olympic Games for his adopted country, and now has been appointed the captain of the Sydney Kings.We are talking about a rare talent and a simply fantastic man on and off the floor. On behalf of the entire organisation I couldnt be happier that we have KevIn taking on this leadership role.Another recent recruit Aleks Maric and?rising local star Jason Cadee will join Lisch in the Kings leadership group.KEVIN LISCH CAREER HIGHLIGHTSDOMESTIC NBL MVP (2012 & 2016)NBL Championship (2010)NBL Defensive Player of the year (2016)INTERNATIONAL 2016 Olympian2014 French Cup Champion?Cheap Custom Jets Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Custom Quinnen Williams Jersey . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. http://www.customjetsjersey.com/ . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. Custom Jets Jerseys .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Cheap Custom Jets Jersey .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans.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 obviouslly was a factor every time you had a play in the kicking game today.ddddddddddddThat 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. ' ' '