Arizona State senior Jesse Ainsworth was at University of Phoenix Stadium when Neil Rackers missed the would-be game-winning field goal in the Cardinals’ Monday night loss to the Bears.

BOULDER, Colo. - It is the rare college football game in which a team has the opportunity to gain more exposure for its kicker. However, that is what Arizona State can provide Jesse Ainsworth with today, as the opponent dictates that a fair share of attention will be put on the kicking game.

BOULDER, Colo. - It is the rare college football game in which a team has the opportunity to gain more exposure for its kicker. However, that is what Arizona State can provide Jesse Ainsworth with today, as the opponent dictates that a fair share of attention will be put on the kicking game.

Arizona State senior Jesse Ainsworth was at University of Phoenix Stadium when Neil Rackers missed the would-be game-winning field goal in the Cardinals’ Monday night loss to the Bears.

The Cardinals signed kicker Jay Feely to a two-year contract on Friday, further reducing the odds Neil Rackers will return to the team next season.

The Cardinals literally kicked a game away Sunday. But the kickers seem safe for now.

Jeff Locke, senior kicker for Mountain Ridge has verbally committed to kick at UCLA. Locke is ranked as the second-best kicker in the nation by Rivals.com, a college football recruiting Web site. Mountain Ridge Coach Bobby Green said Locke has been a constant for the Mountain Lions and that little effort needs to be put into the special teams unit because of his leg. "For four years, we haven't worried about special teams," Green said. "I really don't want to think about next year without him." "Virtually no one can return against him and his hang time (on punts) is 5.4 seconds. That's what the pros kick."

Despite a rare brain disorder that forced him to stop playing professional football, and 17 brain surgeries since to try and stop his pain, Chris Dugan tells people he’s lucky.

September 11, 2004

Having missed six games with a back injury and far from a return to 100 percent, kicker Bill Gramatica was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, ending his season.

Valley Sports blog: Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber will miss the next five or six games after Monday’s MRI showed a serious groin injury, coach Dennis Erickson said on his KTAR radio show Tuesday.

Property crimes detectives hope the arrest of a suspect in the “Kung Fu Kicker” case will lead to a decline in residential burglaries on Mesa’s west side.

One part of the Cardinals' kicking game is darned-near flawless.

With Thomas Weber's place-kicking struggles evidently behind him, Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson is giving the sophomore the punting duties back.

When he came to the New England Patriots last year, Stephen Gostkowski had the football equivalent of succeeding Carl Yastrzemski in the Boston Red Sox’s outfield or following Johnny Carson as host of “The Tonight Show.”

During the preseason, Thomas Weber’s kicking was shaky at times, but those struggles have been long forgotten as the Arizona State redshirt freshman has been dead solid perfect.

Dennis Erickson put the heat on his newly-appointed starting kicker on Friday night, having the entire Arizona State team surround Thomas Weber and scream as he attempted 52-yard field goals.

Another week, another roster move for the Arizona Rattlers. Kicker Peter Christofilakos, signed only 12 days ago to replace an inconsistent Gary Kral, was waived Monday.

How well did things go for Florida in its win over Ohio State in the BCS title game Monday at University of Phoenix Stadium? This well. Coming into the game, Gators kicker Chris Hetland had made just 4-of-13 field goal attempts this season with just one made beyond 30 yards in 10 tries.

It was a rough weekend for kickers, and not just because Arizona’s Neil Rackers saw his streak of consecutive made field goals this season end at 31.

His career had a bumpy start in Cincinnati, but Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers has emerged as one of the NFL’s best. Just don’t ask him about it.