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Apr 30 '19
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. Soccer Jerseys China . -- As he walked off the field, Blake Gillikin glanced down at his left hand and shook his head in disgust. Thankfully, his feet hadnt let him down.The Penn State punter needed them to chase down a snap that glanced off his bandaged left thumb and bounced close to his teams goal line. With more than 550 pounds of Indiana defenders bearing down on him, Gillikin scooped up the loose ball, accelerated to the right and booted a neat, unreturnable punt past midfield. Although officially a 22-yard net punt, Gillikins long right leg sent the ball on a 47-yard trajectory, preventing a big loss.The hidden yardage or the hidden parts of the game, a lot of people dont see that, special teams coordinator Charles Huff said.Gillikins impacted those areas all season for the No. 9 Nittany Lions (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 8 CFP) who will face Rutgers (2-8, 0-7) and the nations busiest punter Michael Cintron on Saturday.Averaging 41 yards per punt, Gillikin has dropped 17 of his 47 punts inside opponents 20-yard lines, forced 15 fair catches and has seven kicks over 50 yards. More importantly, the Nittany Lions have won the field position battle in eight of their 10 games this season and are forcing opponents to drive at least 76 yards on average every time Gillikin punts.You see some of the punts he kicks and youre like, `Wow, defensive tackle Curtis Cothran said. You didnt expect it to go that far but the ball just keeps sailing and keeps sailing.Plays like Gillikins scramble punt helped Penn State wrestle field position back from Indiana and primed a fourth-quarter comeback. Theyre why James Franklin couldnt wait to recruit a vaunted punter. But he had to wait until the NCAA restored the Nittany Lions to 85 scholarships in 2015. The wait included a 2-16 record in games where Penn State lost the field position battle.Meanwhile, Franklin kept his eye on Gillikin, a three-sport athlete who was booting 50- and 60-yard punts in high school playoff games for Westminster High in Atlanta and had a twin brother who was a long snapper.He quickly won the starting job previously shared by Chris Gulla and former Australian-rules footballer Daniel Pasquariello. It didnt take long for Penn State players to notice Gillikins big leg. He usually warms up by lining his toes up on the goal line and blasting high, hanging punts out to the opposite 40.He was an outstanding soccer player, Tyler Gillikin said. And when we started football in high school, his leg was extremely strong. Blakes always been the kicker.Now a long snapper for Northwestern, Tyler took up the skill as a way to get more playing time alongside his twin during their sophomore year of high school. Theyve combined for countless snaps, and misfires, over the years. Their grandfather sent Tyler the video of Blake mishandling the snap against Indiana last week for a laugh, but also for pride.That pretty much is in a nutshell what kind of athlete he is, Tyler said.His situational awareness was evident on arguably Penn States most consequential hidden play so far this season.After a high snap whistled over his head against Ohio State, Gillikin hustled back across his goal line with Buckeyes in pursuit and collapsed on the ball to salvage a safety rather than let Ohio State score a touchdown. It was a 5-point swing in a game Penn State won by 4 to burst into Big Ten championship contention.You have an athlete where when in the game certain things dont always got the way you planned or maybe not exactly what you said is going to happen -- they dont panic in those situations, Huff said. They allow themselves to still be in the moment, still be able to play and what happens is, you take a bad play and you dont let it become a catastrophe.---This story has been corrected to reflect that Rutgers record is 2-8, not 8-2. Discount Soccer Jerseys Store . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseys.info/ .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- On a cloudy-turned-sunny Thursday morning at the U.S. Womens Open, youth wasnt a requisite for success. Given the LPGA is skewing younger than a One Direction audience, this was news.While Mirim Lee, a 25-year-old South Korean, took the first-round lead at CordeValle with an 8-under-par 64, a couple of players in close pursuit did their best to give experience a good name.Foremost among them was 2007 Womens Open champion Cristie Kerr, 38, who broke out of a 2016 slump by shooting a 67, 1 stroke better than 68s by Brittany Lang, 30, and Anna Nordqvist, 29.It might seem ridiculous at first glance to consider someone in her late 20s as an outlier. But consider that Nordqvist, who was 28 when she won the ShopRite LPGA Classic this spring, is the only LPGA winner older than 23 in 2016, as golfers aged 21 or younger have won 11 of 19 tournaments. Teenagers Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson, Nos. 1 and 2 in the world, have won the past three major championships.I did get a lot of comments about options for retirement homes, stuff like that, after winning, Nordqvist said. But the level of talent out here is just unbelievable.(Nordqvist one-upped the youngsters with a ballstriking exhibition Thursday, becoming the first golfer to hit every green in regulation in the championship since statistics began being recorded in 1986.)The Open field typifies the youth movement. A majority of the 156 players (102) are in their 20s, and there are more teenagers (28) than 30-year-olds (22). Just four competitors are 40 or older, with Scotlands Catriona Matthew the oldest at 46.This is Kerrs 21st Open, and her opening round was a bright spot in what has been a mediocre year, especially after a productive two-win 2015 season. Kerr hasnt finished outside the top 20 on the LPGA money list since 2001, but is currently ranked 63rd with just a single top-10 finish.I have had a tough year thus far, but as we all know, playing golf as long as we have, it can change at any moment, Kerr said.Kerr three-putted her first hole for a bogey, then made six birdies in a nine-hole stretch starting on her eighth hole to move into contention behind Lee, who was in her grouping.I was very one-shot-at-a-time out there, which is kind of my motto for this week, said Kerr, who was buoyed not only by a new driver with a shaft that suits her, but by the positive mojo from Lees fine play.It definitely helps, and it was fun. We might have shot 59 best-ball, or close to it.Despite four bogeys between the two, they would have carded a best-ball 60. The third member of the grouping, Lizette Salas, also broke par wwith a 70, but Kerr believes the easier pickings could be short-lived. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys. An Open is always an Open, but I think it played a little easier than I think anybody expected this morning, she said. The course is firming up. Well see what the USGA is going to come up with for the rest of the week. Greens are holding a lot better than we expected. This is such a pure golf course and it definitely allowed low scores. Did anybody think there was an 8-under out there? Im not sure. But I was glad to get off to a good start and take advantage of the conditions.Although Kerr turned professional at age 18 after graduating from high school in 1996, she didnt win an LPGA event until her sixth season on tour. Hitting her stride as more international players joined the circuit, Kerr has won 18 tournaments. Only 26 players have won more LPGA titles, and of that group, only five women born after 1960 -- Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Lorena Ochoa, Se Ri Pak and Laura Davies -- have more victories than Kerr.Kerrs fellow 38-year-old, Pak, is retiring after this season, but Kerr has a different plan.I still want to play for a while, Kerr said. Im just going to keep on grinding. Im only seven points away from qualifying for the Hall of Fame. Im just going to keep on grinding and try to get one point at a time. And getting 20 or more career wins would be huge.Whatever Kerr is able to achieve from this point, it will be done against an inexorable tide of much younger competition.I feel very, very old, Lang said. I played some practice rounds with the college girls. And when you start not knowing who the college coaches are, thats when you know youre old. These teenagers are from all over the world -- theyre so poised and theyre so prepared, its pretty cool to see. And theyre not afraid to rock and roll on the big stage at a young age.Matthew is one role model for bucking the trend. So is Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, 56, who is working as a TV announcer this week but has made the cut in eight of 11 tournaments this season, competing against some players who are almost 40 years her junior.Julis always been one of my idols, Kerr said, and shes always pushed me to get better. Playing for her in the Solheim Cup last year was such an inspiring experience. It depends on how healthy you stay, your love for the game, your work ethic. I want to play as long as I have a passion for the game. The golf ball doesnt know an age.And sometimes its even gloriously and totally oblivious. ' ' ' looping header to the opposite post, but she put the ball in the net for the fifth game in a row at a major tournament. ' ' '
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