d, well, bad luck.Before last year, when the new rule placed the ball at the 15 for extra-point kicks, little thought or preparation was needed for such chip shots. Now, kickers -- and holders, snappers and blockers -- do need to think about the kicks. But they dont get a whole bunch of extra practice

NEW ORLEANS -- The widow of NFL star Will Smith took the stand Tuesday at the murder trial of her husbands killer, disputing the defense claim that Smith was the aggressor and telling the jury, He didnt have to do that to my baby.Racquel Smith said she thought she had defused the loud, profane argument that broke out after Cardell Hayes Hummer rear-ended Smiths Mercedes SUV on a busy street in New Orleans last April.The men got out of their cars to challenge each other, but she described locking eyes with her husband, reminding him of their three children and feeling his anger diminish.I thought it was done and I think he thought it was over, too, she testified as she was questioned by New Orleans Assistant District Attorney Laura Rodrigue.Then, she heard two gunshots.I hear a pop, pop, she said. I didnt think it was me.A burning sensation spread throughout her body, and as she stumbled around to the other side of their car, she said she heard more gunshots -- the ones she learned later had killed her husband.I didnt do anything for you to shoot me, she told Hayes.Her recollections presented a vastly different picture from the one being outlined by the defense. She insisted that she heard Hayes yelling profanely after the shooting, apparently at her husbands lifeless body, making a reference to a white friend of the Smiths who also got out to challenge Hayes.You want to show up for the effing white boy, she recalled Hayes shouting.Anticipating her testimony, the defense had already disputed that claim in opening statements. They also insisted that Hayes felt threatened by Smith and his friends, who were traveling together in three cars that night after the Smiths attended the annual French Quarter festival, had dinner at a steakhouse and then met friends at a sushi restaurant.On cross-examination just before Tuesdays proceedings ended, Racquel Smith acknowledged that her husband had had alcoholic beverages throughout the day of the shooting, beginning with one at the festival, more at a bar they visited later, wine with dinner and more drinks at the sushi restaurant.Lawyers have said a toxicology report showed Hayes was legally drunk the night of the shooting. But Racquel Smith insisted her husband did nothing to provoke the gunfire.Attorneys on both sides have suggested that Louisianas stand your ground law will be at issue during the trial. Hayes, 29, faces life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. Hes also charged with attempted murder after wounding the retired NFL players wife.Video showed Smiths SUV appearing to bump into Hayes Hummer before, blocks later, the Hummer slammed into Smiths car. Both men then got out and exchanged angry words as Hayes displayed his handgun. Exactly what happened next is the focus of the trial.Racquel said that she and her husband didnt believe their vehicle had actually hit the Hummer when they drove away.Hayes lawyer, Jay Daniels, says Smith and the friends were the aggressors, and Hayes only fired because Smith was reaching for his own gun.Will Smith went to his glove box to get his gun, Daniels insisted.Assistant New Orleans District Attorney Jason Napoli rejected that idea in his opening statement. He said nothing corroborates the defense claim that Smith was going back to his car to get a gun when Hayes shot him, but even if that were true, it wouldnt justify shooting him in the back.That isnt even close to self-defense, Napoli said. Thats murder.Smith was shot once in the left side and seven times in the back. Napoli said physical evidence indicates that Smith was facing Hayes when he was first shot, and not reaching for a gun in his car.Napoli also said Hayes provoked the confrontation by willfully ramming his Hummer into Smiths SUV. Hayes lawyer countered that it was an accident, and blamed it on Hayes looking at his phone and trying to dial 911 to report the SUVs license number after Smith drove away from the earlier contact.Napoli conceded that Smith was intoxicated that night but downplayed the significance, telling the jury that the irony of Smiths death is that the defensive football star died defenseless.Smith led the defense on the 2006 Saints team that helped lift the stricken citys spirits with a winning season after Hurricane Katrina. He also helped New Orleans win its only Super Bowl three seasons later.Hayes played football, too -- in a semiprofessional league -- and owns a tow-truck company. Friends described him as soft-spoken and even-tempered -- not the type to erupt into a lethal road rage.Jurors will be sequestered during a trial lawyers said could last seven to 10 days.The courtroom audience Tuesday included quarterback Drew Brees; former safety Steve Gleason, now battling Lou Gehrigs disease; safety Roman Harper; and guard Jahri Evans. Former running back Deuce McAllister was the first person called to testify, choking up at the loss of his friend.Cheap West Virginia Mountaineers Jerseys China . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Sale . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. http://www.cheapcollegechina.com/cheap-wake-forest-demon-deacons-jerseys-china_138m.html . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Cheap College Jerseys Free Shipping . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. College Jerseys China . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said.The idea was to put some excitement into NFL extra points. On Sunday, it became unwise to head to the fridge when the kickers came in.A dozen times in Week 11, those 1-pointers became no-pointers. Blame the swirling winds. Blame the suspect blocking. Blame sloppy holding.Or point fingers at the toes of Mike Nugent and Robbie Gould, who each missed a pair of PATs. Not to mention Stephen Gostkowski and Steven Hauschka. Connor Barth and Kai Forbath. Matt Prater and Cody Parkey. And Jason Myers, who failed on seven extra points last season -- yep, seven -- and still kept his job with the Jaguars.It just drives me crazy to have a poor performance that contributes to a loss, said Nugent, whose Bengals fell 16-12 to Buffalo. Had he made both extra points, a field goal late in the game could have won it for Cincinnati.Thats the second time thats happened this year, that Ive contributed enormously to a loss. If I did what I was brought here to do, wed have two less losses, in my opinion.Several kickers noted they were compensating for the wind, particularly the Giants Gould and the Bears Barth, who coincidentally replaced the veteran Gould in Chicago this season. Kicking in the Meadowlands has never been a picnic, and conditions figure to get worse there and in many other NFL cities as the schedule moves along.But one of the main reasons for bringing in veteran kickers -- Myers is in his second pro season, Hopkins and Parkey their third, but the rest are pretty seasoned NFLers -- is their ability to handle such challenges, mentally and physically.They failed in record numbers Sunday.The first one I hit was where I was hitting them in pregame, Gould said. I thought I made it and it went outside the left upright. The second one I just didnt hit a good ball. Today was tough, but I have to make them.His coach, Ben McAdoo, was giving Gould the benefit of the doubt.It was a tough day to kick the football, McAdoo admitted, also knowing it was his decision to bring in Gould after the Giants waived Josh Brown in October following revelations about his abusive behavior toward his former wife.Well go back, well look at it, well talk about everything. The wind obviouslly was a factor every time you had a play in the kicking game today.ddddddddddddThat was not the case in Detroit. Ford Field is indoors, yet Prater and Myers had misses.So whats going on when a two-time All-Pro such as Gostkowski misses three PATs in the last five games? Or Hauschka has an extra-point kick blocked in successive games?Not to mention perhaps the play of the year last weekend, when Denver ran back a blocked extra point against New Orleans for a defensive 2-point conversion that won the game?A 33-yard kick should be automatic for virtually every NFL kicker, yet we know, 12 times over on Sunday, that is not true.Among the factors contributing are pressure, over-analysis, poor mechanics, weak blocking and, well, bad luck.Before last year, when the new rule placed the ball at the 15 for extra-point kicks, little thought or preparation was needed for such chip shots. Now, kickers -- and holders, snappers and blockers -- do need to think about the kicks. But they dont get a whole bunch of extra practices on them.Kickers traditionally are a quirky bunch. That isnt necessarily a bad thing; just look at how successful Sebastian Janikowski has been for the Raiders.But they also are prone to thinking too hard about kicks. Why else would opposing coaches try to ice them?Bad weather, particularly slippery surfaces and wind, have a huge effect. A wet ball is much harder to boot accurately, as well as more difficult to snap and hold. Uncertain footing plagues kickers legs and psyches.As for the wind, thats the enemy of everyone but defenders on a football team.So those excuses sometimes work, though, again, not in the friendly kicking confines of a dome.The biggest issue for kickers comes when they get in a rut. Unlike other positions that require deep knowledge of a playbook, kickers and punters are much more on their own. When placekickers cant find the middle of the uprights, they usually find themselves on their own and off the roster.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL. ' ' '