Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. [url=htt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Blair Walsh started off a new season the same way the Minnesota kicker wrapped up his last: hooking field goals left.This time, Walsh missed not just one, but two field goals and twice on the second attempt before redeeming himself. He rebounded by kicking four field goals in the second half Sunday as Minnesota beat the Tennessee Titans 25-16.But Walsh also missed an extra point, leaving Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer disappointed and expecting improvement.Hes going to have to kick them through, Zimmer said. Hes our kicker so theres no question about that, but he needs to kick better.Walsh had all offseason to dwell over the 27-yard field goal he shanked in a 10-9 loss to Seattle in the playoffs last January when holder Jeff Locke couldnt spin the ball to get the laces out.The kicker told reporters after Sundays game he would love the first two attempts back and was grateful he got four more chances along with the victory. His first kick from 37 yards missed left, and he badly yanked consecutive attempts from 56 yards short and left just before halftime even after Tennessee tried to ice him with a timeout.I was trying to kill it because I had to get it there, Walsh said of the distance. Thats usually the result when youre trying to do that too. Thats how I looked at them. I dont think theres anything ... more you can take from it than that. Ill have to watch a little bit more to see exactly whats going on.Being mad at himself in the locker room at halftime seemed to help refocus the kicker. In the third quarter, Walsh got the defending NFC North champs on the scoreboard with a 50-yard field goal.I knew that one was well within my range, Walsh said. And you know, Ive been around a little while. I think I can bounce back and Ive shown that. Like I said, I want to make it smooth from the beginning, and its something I need to work on.He added a 33-yarder and looked back in rhythm until missing the extra point after Eric Kendricks 77-yard interception return late in the third. Walsh was 33 of 37 on extra points last season.Walsh shook off that miss and added field goals of 45 and 30 yards in the fourth quarter.Now in his fifth season, Walsh has five game-winning field goals in his career, and he now has 24 field goals from 50 yards or longer in his career. That ties him with former Minnesota kicker Ryan Longwell and the late Rob Bironas for 15th in NFL history from that distance.Walsh wants to take any drama out of sending him out for any kick.You want to have those kicks that are dead center from the beginning and make it smooth the whole time rather than fighting through it and getting in a rhythm, Walsh said. Were too good to do that, and I know better than to do that.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFLFollow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker Replica Soccer Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. Stitched Soccer Jerseys . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Soccer Jerseys China . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Clearance Soccer Jerseys . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Chris Buescher is a giant step closer to qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup after notching a victory at Pocono. Now, he has to take that small step -- make it into the top 30 in points, the cutoff needed to become eligible for NASCARs postseason.I absolutely think we can get into the top 30, the rookie said Friday before practice on the road course at Watkins Glen. We really shouldnt have been out of it.Buescher emerged from the fog at Pocono on Monday to become the surprising winner in a shortened Cup race, compliments of a race strategy call by Bob Osborne, veteran crew chief of the No. 34 for Front Row Motorsports. Bueschers best finish this season before his breakthrough victory had been 14th.Osborne took a gamble and kept Buescher on track while others made pit stops with 28 laps left. Once the cars were halted because of the weather, the fog and rain settled in and Buescher was declared the winner. The victory left him 31st in the points standings, six points behind David Ragan for 30th as the teams prepare for Sundays Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.Ragan was the driver who won Front Rows first race, at Talladega in May 2013, 118 races ago. Ragan also helped Buescher get his career off the ground by setting him up with living arrangements, signing him to his Legends car team as a development driver, and connecting him with Roush Fenway Racing.The irony of the moment is not lost on Buescher.Its funny for me, he said. David Ragan has been a huge help for me my entire career. His whole family has. Weve got to pass him now, try to outrun him. Its not going to just be him. Theres going to be a handful of them that were going to have to outrun. It just so happens that one of them is the guy that mentored me through a lot of the early stages of my stock car career.The 23-year-old Buescher is the first Cup rookie to win a race since Joey Logano at New Hampshire in 2009, and his first NASCAR victory came on a road course -- at Mid-Ohio in 2014 in the second-tier Xfinity Series.Buescher posted two Xfinity victories last season and won the series title. Hes spending his rookie season in Cup as basically the fourth driver for Roush Fenway Racing beecause of a shared technical alliance between the organizations.dddddddddddd Osborne said that relationship would give his shop everything it needs in the coming weeks as the team seeks a Chase spot.I dont see anything to hold him back from getting into the top 30, said Ragan, who drives the No. 23 Toyota for BK Racing. Im certainly going to race hard. I dont want him to get there at my expense, but hes had speed of late. If he just had a little luck.With five races remaining before the Chase begins, 10 drivers have clinched spots in the 16-driver field: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Logano, and Martin Truex Jr. With one win, Tony Stewart also has all but claimed one of the remaining spots.That Buescher is ready to join them is not a surprise back at the shop. The surprise is that he isnt in yet, and thats mainly because of bad luck. Hes finished 30th or worse 10 times this season, including the first three restrictor plate races.It was our goal at the beginning of the season, said Buescher, who spent a day and a half this week in Utah honing his road course skills. Were in really good shape. The last seven, eight weeks weve been unloading with a lot better speed, running better in the race. After this weekend, were going to a lot of places for the second time. Weve got a good notebook. We feel like we have good chemistry where we can pick up speed in the next five races.Still, it promises to be full of intrigue, starting with newly paved Watkins Glen International, where strategy and fuel mileage often come into play in a race that covers just 220.5 miles. Buescher was 23rd fastest in final Cup practice Friday.Im really happy for Bob, really happy for Chris, said Carl Edwards, who worked with Osborne at Roush. Bob and I talked a while back and Bob made a specific point. He said, `Chris is so good, people dont realize how good this kid is. Hopefully, they can get things rolling and get in the points and maybe put something together for the end of the year. ' ' '