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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Floridas kicking situation was the worst in the Southeastern Conference last season and among the least productive in the country.It was so inadequate that coach Jim McElwain held open tryouts -- in the middle of the season.After two more failed field goal attempts in the regular-season finale against rival Florida State, McElwain declared well get a kicker. And well get a good one.The 25th-ranked Gators may have gotten the best one available.Eddy Pineiro, a sophomore who attended ASA Community College in Miami last season but didnt play football, is expected to dramatically improve Floridas field-goal fortunes this fall. His first opportunity to kick in front of 90,000 will happen Saturday against UMass.Im excited, said Pineiro, who has made a number of 70-yard-plus kicks and put them on YouTube. I think people exaggerate (the pressure). But if you work on the same thing every single day, why cant you do it in a game? ... You should be able to put a blindfold on and kick it because its the same kick every single time. Its muscle memory.Pineiro makes it sound easy: see ball, kick ball.But Florida learned last season just how difficult a task kicking can be.The Gators missed five extra points and 10 field goals in 2015. They made just 7 of 17 field goals, a 41.2 percent success rate that ranked 127th out of 128 teams in the nation. McElwain used three different kickers, including a dental student added to the roster late in the year, but nothing fixed the problem.Seeing them go through those kicking struggles last year was pretty depressing, Pineiro said.McElwain tried just about everything while experienced junior Austin Hardin, who ended up making 5 of 14 attempts, kept struggling. He turned to Jorge Powell, but the walk-on injured a knee trying to make a tackle against LSU and missed the final seven games. That prompted McElwain to open things up to Floridas student body.More than 200 students responded to the open call, and dental student Neil MacInnes won the multistage kicking competition. Still, McElwain stuck with Hardin -- the Gators ended up going for it on fourth down 27 times -- while putting the full recruiting press on Pineiro.Pineiro eventually de-committed from Alabama and enrolled at Florida in January.Hes essentially been Floridas kicker since, even though hes never kicked in a game. Pineiro was a standout soccer player at Miami Sunset High School, so his first real action came in Floridas spring game, where he made all five extra points and three lengthy field goals.I didnt think people were going to scream out my name after an extra point, so that was pretty interesting, said Pineiro, who will wear No. 15, made famous in Gainesville by Tim Tebow.Pineiro wasnt perfect: He hit from 52, 46 and 56 yards, and missed from 53 and 52. He also had nine touchbacks on 10 kickoffs, so McElwain was clearly testing him.The coach hasnt stopped, either.McElwain challenges Pineiro at nearly every practice.Lately hes been putting the whole team around me while Im kicking my field goal, just screaming in my ear, throwing water in my face, trying to get me off-balance and stuff, Pineiro said. So far, Im like 4-for-4 on those, whatever you want to call them, pressure kicks. So hes happy about that.McElwain will be even happier if Pineiro makes them in games, something the Gators rarely did last season.I dont want to sit here and put all these high expectations on him, McElwain said. I mean, the guy hasnt kicked in a game yet, right? And yet all of a sudden, were ready to say this guy is the Golden Toe Award or whatever.At the same time, I do know this: He has the talent to do it, and I love the way he goes about his work.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Avalanche Jerseys China Avalanche Jerseys 2021 . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. https://www.cheapavalanche.com/ . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Colorado Avalanche Gear . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Avalanche Jerseys 2020 . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Midfielder Gurbaj Singh was the most expensive player at the 2017 Hockey India League closed bid, fetching the highest bid of USD 99,000 from Ranchi Rays.Gurbaj has been out of contention from the national team for over a year, after being suspended for nine months by Hockey India in August 2015 on charges of indulging in groupism and creating disharmony within the team during the Hockey World League Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium.German forward Christopher Ruhr was the most expensive foreign player, being bought by Ranchi Rays for USD 75,000.Other notable bids were for Tom Craig (Kalinga Lancers), Robert van der Horst (Jaypee Punjab Warriors) and Seve Van Ass (Uttar Pradesh Wizards).Many franchises invested in younger players, with 18-year-old defender Hardik Singh bought by Jaypee Punjab Warriors for USD 39,000.Among other youngsters, Shamsher Singh and Ajay Yadav were bought by Uttar Pradesh Wizards,, while Indias U-17 Asia Cup winning captain Nilam Sanjeep Xess went to Kalinga Lancers.ddddddddddddIn the closed bid process, six franchises participating in HIL 2017 -- Dabang Mumbai, Delhi Waveriders, Jaypee Punjab Warriors, Kalinga Lancers, Ranchi Rays and Uttar Pradesh Wizards -- picked up their players to complete their teams for the next seasons event.All teams were operated with a USD 725,000 cap on the purse. Having retained their squad for a significantly lesser amount, Ranchi Rays and Jaypee Punjab Warriors had a larger purse available for the bidding process.Other notable players available in the closed bid included Indian goalkeeper Sushant Tirkey, Netherlands internationals Jaap Stockmann, Mink van der Weerden and Olympic Gold medallist Lucas Rossi of Argentina. ' ' '