Dein erstes Forum » Allmendinger off the pit cycle, and he wa

ASHBURN, Va. -- Not too long ago, Ty Nsekhe was making $150 a week playing Arena Football and running on hope.Now hes the starting left tackle for the Washington Redskins -- an opportunity afforded him after Pro Bowler Trent Williams suspension and years of patience. Nsekhe has four games to prove what he has always believed and tried to show during every tryout: he belongs in the NFL.I always knew in the back of my mind I was destined to be here, so something just stayed with me, Nsekhe said this week. I cant really tell you what it was, but I just knew I was going to be here. Im here.Nsekhes travels took him from Texas State to Tarleton State, a Division II school, and then to AF2, the Arena Football Leagues developmental program. At 6-foot-8, Nsekhes size garnered NFL attention, and he said Miami was about to sign him in 2011 when the lockout began.If the AFLs San Antonio Talons hadnt called in 2012, Nsekhe was content to continue operating his private security business. Reluctant to go back to banging up his body for $150 a week -- with a $50 bonus for a win -- he needed the Talons to match his salary.When they did, he was back in the game.I went down there, and the rest is history, Nsekhe said.Nsekhe had brief stays with the Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints and the Redskins, and he bounced to the Canadian Football League and back to the Arena League.After a career of catch and release, he signed with Washington in May 2015 at 29 and started two games in place of Williams last season.All I really wanted was to have the opportunity to become an NFL player, he said. I just wanted somebody to believe in me and give me a chance, and I appreciate that.That opportunity came from coach Jay Gruden and the Redskins, who believed Nsekhe had the size to play left tackle in the NFL but was very raw.Experienced offensive line coach Bill Callahan helped him develop his technique, with Williams and right tackle Morgan Moses also lending a hand in the learning process.Luckily, we had the opportunity to keep him here and let him develop in a system and learn the system, the calls, and just watch him progressively get better and better, Gruden said. And hes been a joy to watch, quite frankly.Right now Nsekhe isnt thinking about where he would be if football didnt work out -- though he often does. Right now, hes focused on starting for the Redskins.Just everything falling into place, he said. I dont know. Sometimes things happen for a reason, and you cant explain them sometimes.Williams suspension, imposed last week for violations of the NFLs substance abuse policy, allows Nsekhe to show what he can do for the Redskins -- and, as a restricted free agent once the season ends, perhaps for other teams looking for a capable tackle.Washington general manager Scot McCloughan has said Nsekhe can be a starter, and Nsekhe will have a chance to show that potential beginning with a game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.Gruden said little will change with the Redskins offense because he has faith in Nsekhes ability to fill in for Williams.Quarterback Kirk Cousins isnt worried, either, knowing Nsekhe will be protecting his blind side.Mentally, he really understands it and knows where to be and who to get on each protection and each play in the run game, Cousins said. Hes got a big frame and it really helps to have that size, and hes worked really hard.It hasnt been an easy path, but so many of these guys in an NFL locker room, they wouldnt be here if they had given up at the first sign of adversity. Tys a great example of someone who just kept pushing and kept going, and now, hes in a great position to be successful.Game notesGruden said an MRI on WR DeSean Jacksons left shoulder showed rotator cuff issues. Jackson missed practice for the second consecutive day, and his status for the Vikings game is uncertain. ... Gruden confirmed undrafted rookie Robert Kelley remains the starting running back and was noncommittal about the role of former No. 1 Matt Jones. ... Moses (sprained left ankle) and S Will Blackmon (broken left thumb) were limited participants in practice Thursday.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLWholesale NFL Jerseys China .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. https://www.chinajerseysnfl.us/ .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. NFL Jerseys China . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string.INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Kanaan had one more lap, one anticlimactic last lap under the yellow caution flag, to end 12 years of frustration in the Indianapolis 500. He flipped up his visor to wipe away tears as the crowd roared its approval, and then in Victory Lane gave his bride of two months a long kiss and poured the celebratory winners milk over his head. Kanaan is Indys hard-luck loser no more. He is its champion at last, fittingly with a dose of good luck for a change. "I have to say, the last lap was the longest lap of my life," Kanaan said. It was one of Indys most popular victories. The losers were pleased with the outcome, evidenced by a scene similar to rivals lining up to congratulate Dale Earnhardt when he finally won the Daytona 500 on his 20th try. Dario Franchitti, whose crash brought out the race-ending caution, stood grinning by his crumpled car, two thumbs up as Kanaan passed under yellow. "When I saw who was leading, it cheered me up a little bit," said Franchitti, last years winner. "Hes a very, very deserving winner." The fans thought so, too, standing on their feet, screaming "TK! TK! TK!" as he and team owner Jimmy Vasser went by during the traditional victory lap. It felt magical to Kanaan, like he had given the crowd at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a gift. "It means a lot to me because so many people, I could feel that they wanted me to win, and its such a selfish thing to do because what are they getting from it?" Kanaan said. "Im the one who gets the trophy. I believed that this win was more for people out there than for me. "I wanted it all my life, but over the years I was kind of OK with the fact that I may never have the chance to win." His chance came at the end of a history-making race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Kanaan knew he had to pounce at the green flag for the final restart with three laps to go. He did, zipping inside leader Ryan Hunter-Reay to roar to the lead -- where he wanted to be in case another caution came out. "I knew I had to get the lead on the restart because it could be a yellow, which happened to me plenty of times here, and it did," Kanaan said. "How funny is life? The yellow was my best friend." Kanaan had his fair share of chances to win at Indy, but came up short time and time again. He was leading when the rain came in 2007, only to lose to Franchitti when the race resumed. In all, Kanaan went into Sundays race with 221 laps led at Indy -- more than any non-winner except Michael Andretti and Rex Mays -- but his second-place finish to Buddy Rice in 2004 was the closest he had come to victory. He had a pair of third-place finishes, including last year, again to Franchitti. "Its wonderful for him," said Mario Andretti, himself a victim of bad luck at Indy. "Hes raced here long enough that he deserves it, no question." The win for Kanaan and car owner Vasser was celebrated throughout the paddock. Alex Zanardi, who came from Italy to watch the race and gave Kanaan one of his 2012 London Paralympics medals as good luck, wept behind the pit wall as Kanaan took the checkered flag. "I tell you Im starting to think (the medal) really works," said Zanardi, who lost his legs in a 2001 crash in Germany. "Its a dream come true to see Tony win, to see Jimmy Vasser win, my dear friend. Im so happy, Im so happy." It was Vasser who brought Zanardis medal to Kanaan before the race, telling his driver that Zanardi wanted him to rub it for good luck. "I actually cuddled with the thing," Kanaan admitted. Vasser, caught in the middle as a driver during the political fighting in open-wheel racing, only got the chance to run Indy eight times in his career and not during his prime. He had goose-bumps on the celebratory lap with Kanaan as the crowd chanted the drivers name. "I never won it as a driver. In fact, I couldnt win it as a driver," Vasser said, "so I had to hire the right guy to do it, get a baby Borg on my shelf," referring to the winners Borg-Warner trophy. It will be onne adorned with Kanaans likeness, and the driver joked he could finally "put my big nose on that trophy.dddddddddddd." Fellow Brazilian Helio Castroneves, like Franchitti shooting for a record-tying fourth Indy win, was happy for his long-time friend. "Finally hes able to win this race. Hes so close so many times, but the good news is the good old boys are still able to run fast," Castroneves said. Carlos Munoz, a 21-year-old rookie making his first IndyCar start, finished second and Hunter-Reay was third. "T.K. is such a fan favourite, absolutely, its great to see him win it. If anybody is going to win it in the field, hes one of the few Id like to see other than myself," Hunter-Reay said. "We were leading on that last restart, I knew I was a sitting duck, and I wasnt too bummed about it because I knew we had enough laps to get it going again and have a pass back. Maybe I would be third on the last lap, which is where I wanted to be." Only there was no racing on the last lap. Franchitti brought out the caution seconds after Kanaan passed Hunter-Reay for the last of 68 lead changes -- exactly double last years record. On the final lap, the leaders came to the finish line all bunched up around Kanaan, saluting the IndyCar stalwart who had longed to add the final missing piece to his resume. That was about as slow as anyone had driven all day. The average speed was 187.433 mph, another Indy record. Marco Andretti finished fourth, failing to win for the eighth time, and Justin Wilson was fifth in the highest-finishing Honda on a day that was dominated by Chevrolet. Castroneves was sixth. Pole-sitter Ed Carpenter led a race-high 37 laps and finished 10th. James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont., and Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., finished 21st and 24th, respectively. "It was a bad day all around. I feel bad for my teammates," said Hinchcliffe, who led the race three times for a total of seven laps. "We were running right at the front there and a (caution) may have cost us a chance at the win. Theres nothing really to say about our day. It was a non-factor. We were a non-event. Im really disappointed." Tagliani said his day was over when he made contact with the wall. "I got on the outside and I touched the gray and the car slid," he said. "When you do a lot of laps, the marbles accumulate and I touched the marbles and I tagged the wall with the rear a bit -- just enough to bend the suspension and we had to change it. We lost a bunch of laps." For a time, it appeared the win would go to AJ Allmendinger, who led 23 laps in his Indy debut for Roger Penske. Fired by Penske from his NASCAR ride last year after failing a NASCAR drug test, Penske gave him a second chance with this IndyCar opportunity. Seven years after leaving open-wheel racing, Allmendinger finally ran "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" and was leading when his seat belt came undone, forcing him to pit. It put Allmendinger off the pit cycle, and he was forced to stop for gas twice far in advance of the rest of the field. It meant Allmendinger had to drive his way back to the front each time, and he finally sputtered out at seventh. "Ill be honest, pretty special moment to be leading at Indy," he said. "My body kind of went numb, my mind was racing and I could feel my heart beating really fast, and thats a special moment Ill never forget." A year after 34 lead changes and a frantic finish created what many considered the best Indy ever, IndyCar had its hands full trying to top itself. This one might have done it, with the slicing and dicing at the front, over and over and over again. The 68 lead changes involved 14 drivers, and 28 of the 33 cars were running at the end. With 100 miles to go, 25 drivers were on the lead lap. "It was a hell of a race. Thats all I can say," said Mario Andretti. "This is riveting competition, thats all I can tell you. Its just amazing. The reliability of the cars is there. The product is there. Its unbelievable racing, the best Ive seen in years." ' ' '