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20.09.2018 17:05 - Russell Bodine Jersey
Автор: panxing18 Категория: Поезия   
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Eighteen years after the Raiders made kicker Sebastian Janikowski a surprise first-round draft pick Russell Bodine Jersey , his career in Oakland has come to an end.

The team told Janikowski this week that he won"t be brought back when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next month.

"The Raider Nation salutes Sebastian Janikowski as the sun sets on his illustrious career with the Oakland Raiders," owner Mark Davis said in a statement Thursday. "He joined the team as a surprise first-round pick in the 2000 Draft and finishes his time in Oakland as one of the greatest or perhaps the greatest kicker in pro football history. His powerful left leg produced an NFL-record 55 field goals of 50-or-more yards. The motto "Once a Raider, Always a Raider" has never been more true as his 18-year career makes him the longest-tenured player in Raiders history."

Davis" father, Al, made the stunning decision in 2000 to take Janikowski with the 17th overall pick. The only other kicker taken in the first round since the start of the common draft era in 1967 was Steve Little, who went 15th to the Cardinals in 1978.

Janikowski"s successful career made him the Raiders all-time leader in games played (268) and points scored (1,799). His 55 field goals from at least 50 yards are the most in NFL history. The only other player from the 2000 draft still on his original team is Tom Brady, who was picked 199th by New England.

Janikowski, who turns 40 on March 2, missed all of last season with a back injury. His agent, Paul Healy, said in an email that Janikowski is too young to retire.

Janikowski said last spring that he hoped to still be with the Raiders when the team moved to Las Vegas in 2020. But that didn"t happen after the back injury sidelined him before the start of last season and Giorgio Tavecchio took over as kicker.

There was some thought that new coach Jon Gruden might give Janikowski another chance since he was Oakland"s coach when Janikowski was drafted and for his first two seasons. Janikowski is one of five players who were on NFL rosters last season who have played at least one game for Gruden http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/kavon-frazier-jersey , joining punter Shane Lechler, kicker Matt Bryant, cornerback Aqib Talib and Raiders left tackle Donald Penn.

Janikowski"s departure leaves long snapper Jon Condo as the only player on the Raiders with the team before Al Davis died in October 2011. Condo is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent next month and his long-term status with the franchise is unknown.

Raw emotion came from Alex Ovechkin as he wore an ”Eastern Conference champions” hat for the first time.

”Oh my God,” he said. ”It’s unbelievable. I can’t explain my emotions. I’m just happy for my boys, for organizations, for fans. Finally.”

Finally.

Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will play for the Stanley Cup. It’s a journey 14 years in the making from Ovechkin being the first overall draft pick to the greatest goal scorer of this generation – and a player who until this year hasn’t made it out of the second round of the playoffs through little fault of his own. Yet he’s gotten an uneven proportion of the blame.

Ovechkin essentially willed the Capitals to the Cup Final with 12 goals, 10 assists and the best postseason of his career. In one spring, the 32-year-old Russian superstar has ended Washington’s 20-year final drought, slayed demons and destroyed the old narrative that he can’t get the job done when it matters most.

”The special thing is because we’re winning,” Ovechkin said before the Capitals left for Las Vegas. ”That’s the whole thing. That’s all I can say. We win and we move forward. We’ve never been in this position before. All my career, I played for this team, and we never get the success like that.”

Ovechkin bore the brunt of nine playoff appearances ending after the first or second round despite being a point-a-game player. With time running out on chasing the trophy he knew all about as a kid Jeremy Kerley Jersey , this season has featured a different-looking player.

General manager Brian MacLellan sees a new level of maturity on and off the ice that he believes comes from Ovechkin getting married. A different offseason training regimen allowed Ovechkin to produce more at even strength, and the result was an NHL-leading 49 goals.

”I think the way he plays this year is more within the team structure,” MacLellan said. ”This is the most systematic he’s played throughout his career, in my mind.”

In the playoffs, Ovechkin has raised his game even further. His vintage physicality and his willingness to get his body in front of shots and hustle down ice on the backcheck have been noticeable.

”When you see him blocking shots, you see him coming back hard, you see him playing physical, he’s getting more and more excited,” linemate Tom Wilson said. ”It seems like every round you win, he’s playing even harder. And that’s what you need out of your top guys. When he’s going, you’re aware he’s on the ice. Everyone in the building knows he’s on the ice.”

During the third round, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said Ovechkin has ”taken 14 years of frustration out in one playoffs.” Ovechkin is reluctant to talk about previous playoff disappointments http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/ty-montgomery-jersey , but they’ve been tied to him.

Even though this is a team sport, someone has to be the greatest player to never win the Cup. Until now, arguably that’s Ovechkin, a label he has the chance to shed beginning in Game 1 of the final Monday at the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

”He’s an elite player that shoulders the responsibility of how our team performs, whether that is fair or unfair, and I think that happens to all those elite players in the league,” MacLellan said. ”They get built up when they win and they get torn down a little bit when they lose. It is not always fair, because it is a team game. And for him, he has shouldered a lot of the burden that has gone on here for the last 11 years or whatever the time period has been, and hopefully this is a time when he gets payback and enjoys it this year.”

Ovechkin is enjoying hockey seemingly like never before. Coach Barry Trotz wondered if being the face of the franchise and carrying the burden weighed on Ovechkin all those years.

Getting past the Pittsburgh Penguins and the second round made Ovechkin look ”freer” in Trotz’s eyes.

”You want your top guys to be on a mission, and I think that has freed him to carry on the mission rather than have to explain why he didn’t go farther and have to do it every spring,” Trotz said. ”He’s having fun. He’s producing. He’s all in. If you’re going to have success Anthony Castonzo Jersey , you have to have all-in contribution, and he has. I think he’s enjoying the run, the playoffs, maybe for the first time in a long time.”

Since returning home to Washington after advancing to the Final, Ovechkin said fans have come up to him to say thank you, good job, and to express pride. But he doesn’t want to celebrate too much because he knows how difficult every step of the playoffs is to conquer.

”It’s hard. It’s not easy,” Ovechkin said. ”This organization, it’s been too long to be in this position, and I’ve never been in this position. Only Brooks Orpik has won the Stanley Cup and been in the final. Now this group is excited and we’re ready to go.”

More Stanley Cup coverage:  Authentic Womens Trenton Cannon Jersey




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