SUPPORT » s, David Mercer in Champaign, Illinois, L

An old adage in college football has been never play for a field goal.It might be time for the pros to take heed.Particularly in overtime.For the first time in 19 years, the NFL has had two ties in a season. On consecutive weekends, no less, and punctuated by poor placekicking. It nearly was three draws, including a pair on Sunday, which would have been a league first. But Oakland knocked off Tampa Bay with 1:45 remaining in overtime by avoiding a field goal try and throwing for the winning points.Ties are strange creatures in the NFL, and coaches tend to be unsure how to avoid them. Should they be aggressive or conservative in the extra session? How do you use the clock? Most importantly, when do you strategize for a winning kick?Maybe the answer to that one is simply never.Bruce Arians and Pete Carroll were burned by that approach in the 6-6 deadlock between Arizona and Seattle last weekend. On Sunday, in a 27-27 tie in London between Washington and Cincinnati that was one of the most watchable games of a mostly pedestrian 2016 season so far, the Redskins got scorched by a field goal failure in OT. The Bengals had their kicking woes in regulation.I need to make those kicks, bottom line, said Dustin Hopkins , who hooked a 34-yarder in OT seconds after his successful kick was negated because Cincinnati called a timeout. I try my very best every time I go out, and thats kind of the only standard I can hold myself to. Obviously, I expect more from myself. I cant expect anything more from these guys. They played their heart out, so Im disappointed for them.Just as disappointing as the botched kicks by Hopkins or Arizonas Chandler Catanzaro or Seattles Steven Hauschka is the uncertainty on the part of Arians, Carroll, Washingtons Jay Gruden and Cincinnatis Marvin Lewis for handling overtime. Gruden even facetiously suggested he and his players didnt know games could end in ties.I dont know how to react, Gruden said. I didnt think it was possible to tie. I know there was a tie last week in Arizona, but I was like, `How the heck did they tie?Now we know.Draws -- yes, a nod to the 27-27 affair in England -- also confuse the playoff tiebreakers. All four of the teams who played ties this month made the playoffs last year. If they become contenders again, well, good luck figuring out all the permutations.While those ties were packed with drama, they werent necessarily filled with strong play. Its generally true that defenses get worn down quicker than offenses in the NFL, and that looked particularly true of the Bengals on Sunday. They were spared defeat as much by mistakes by Washington as anything.On the other hand, in the Cardinals-Seahawks prime tie last Sunday, the play of both defenses ranged from stingy to spectacular. Sure, there was some clunky offense, but much of it was caused by the likes of Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson.Theres also the issue of exhaustion. A 60-minute game, especially if its close and extremely physical, usually leads to underwhelming overtimes. While the situations have improved with the current rule that, barring an immediate touchdown both teams must get a possession, the coin toss to begin OT still has too big a role. The team going on offense first has a huge edge -- witness the Cowboys victory Sunday night against Philadelphia.While the NFL is loath to copy nearly anything the colleges originated, perhaps something similar to their OTs would provide a more level playing field. One thing it would ensure is no more ties.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Nike Vapormax Sale Online . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Nike Vapormax Cheap .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. http://www.discountvapormax.com/ . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Nike Vapormax Wholesale China .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Cheeap Vapormax Online .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. The Big Ten will play six Friday night football games a year starting in 2017 and continuing through at least 2022, the conference announced Wednesday.Not every school wants to host those games, though.The Friday night games are being added to the conferences television agreements with ESPN/ABC and Fox, Senior Associate Commissioner Mark Rudner said. No team will play more than one Friday night home game a year.The Big Ten already has had Friday night games on Labor Day weekend. Those games will continue and be counted among the six each year. Iowa and Nebraska play each other the day after Thanksgiving in a game that wont count among the six.Penn State announced it wouldnt play at home on a Friday night, and Michigan has said no to playing home or away.We fully support the Big Tens scheduling decisions as well as conference peers who are able to play on Friday nights, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said. With our large fan base, Michigan fans and alumni travel significant distances to attend games, making Saturdays our preferred day for all football games.Ohio State is willing to host once every three years, but only when the Friday falls during fall break on the academic calendar. Iowa, Michigan State and Rutgers dont want to host except on Labor Day weekend. Wisconsin would be open to playing at home on Labor Day weekend in selected years, athletic director Barry Alvarez said.Nebraska and Indiana have agreed to host once every three years. Maryland had no comment.It does create additional opportunities for certain programs that heretofore have not had that kind of national prime-time exposure on Saturday night to maybe have that on Friday night, Rudner said.Among those are Illinois, Northwestern and Purdue, which say theyre on board with hosting Friday night games.There are traditionalists who say Friday is for high school football, but if we can get our product out there on national television when all eyes are on us, thats great for Purdue, Boilermakers spokesman Matthew Rector said.Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle wrote in an email to The Associated Press, We will play the schedule assigned to us by the Big Ten.The Big Ten plans to announce the 2017 Friday night schedule within the next four to seven days.To give schools adequate time to address logistical challenges, the Friday night games will be announced in early October of the preceding year.dddddddddddd The 2018 Friday games, for example, will be announced in October 2017.Friday night college football has become more common in recent years. There were 53 games on that night in 2014, 63 in 2015 and 65 this year. The Big 12, Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference are among the leagues that play some games on Fridays.Penn State spokesman Jeff Nelson, noting the importance of high school football across the state, said his school would agree only to an occasional home day game on the Friday following Thanksgiving.Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said significant operational issues make Friday night football in Happy Valley a no go. Barbour pointed out that fans generally travel more than an hour to get to the stadium. She also said shutting down the school on a Friday was not an option.Illinois spokesman Kent Brown said coach Lovie Smith and the football office emailed high school football coaches in the state explaining the situation.There is no sacred day of the week for any sports event anymore, Brown said, noting a lot of high schools play on Saturdays.Rudner said Delany called the executive directors of the state high school athletic associations in each of the 11 Big Ten states to personally explain the conferences decision.Wisconsin Football Coaches Association President Tony Biolo said his organization is opposed to the Big Tens plan.Friday nights to me has just been about the high school portion of it, and sort of let our kids be the star attraction that night, Biolo said.Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said even though his school agreed to host Friday night games on a limited basis, the Big Tens move was necessary to increase exposure.We avoided it for years, Smith said. We thought we could do it in a limited way, which is why we established some parameters around it.---AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo and AP Sports Writers Mitch Stacy in Columbus, David Mercer in Champaign, Illinois, Larry Lage in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Genaro Armas in Milwaukee, Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and Luke Meredith in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.---More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '