OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens most potent offensive weapon is Justin Tucker, a cant-miss kicker who also happens to be a talented opera singer, skilled negotiator and the target of good-natured insults from his teammates.Tucker is the only NFL kicker whos perfect this season. Hes 27 for 27 on field goal tries -- including seven from 50 yards or longer -- and has nailed every one of his 15 conversions.Booting on a soft grass field on a very windy day, Tucker hit field goals of 52, 57, 54 and 36 yards Sunday to carry the Ravens past the Cincinnati Bengals 19-14 .Weve got the best kicker in the league. Theres no doubt about it, Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said afterward. But weve got to keep the young kid humble.Thats the prevailing theme in the locker room of the Ravens, who love their kicker, but go through great lengths to keep him in his place.Theres no way to keep him down, man, quarterback Joe Flacco said.All kidding aside, the Ravens (6-5) know they wouldnt be tied for first place in the AFC North without their unyieldingly reliable kicker. The offense has been limited to one or no touchdowns in six of 11 games, yet Tucker has been there to salvage just about every drive that sputters inside midfield. Hes scored 96 points, a whopping 44 percent of Baltimores season total of 218.When our offense stalls out, were still putting points on the board, linebacker C.J. Mosley said.Tucker is paying solid returns on a four-year, $16.8 million contract he signed in July. The deal included an NFL-record for the position $10.8 million in guaranteed money.One day before the agreement, Tucker -- wearing the teams franchise tag -- said he would leave the Ravens if the sides didnt work out a long-term deal.I told him, `Ive never seen a kicker make some contract demands, but I guess when youre the best kicker in the league, you can do that, Suggs reasoned.Tucker does more than merely take a few kicks during the week and show up on Sunday. He works hard at his craft each day with special teams coach Jerry Rosburg, holder Sam Koch and long snapper Morgan Cox. More often than not, kicking consultant Randy Brown will participate as well.Its imperative to have a consistent operation, Tucker said. It starts with an accurate, fast, catchable snap like Morgan is able to do time and time again. Then its important to have a holder whos confident in his hands, who wont hesitate in his movement. Its definitely a big part of the reason why Im able to be confident kicking the ball.The results are profound. Tucker has made 34 straight field goals, two short of Matt Stovers team record. He is on course to become one of only seven NFL kickers to complete a perfect season.He has a lot of confidence, and hes earned the confidence because hes worked so hard, coach John Harbaugh said Monday. Hes talented. But we try to keep him in place and whip him into shape every now and then, make fun of him every opportunity we can. Hes got just a great sense of humor and takes it well.Kicking isnt Tuckers only talent. He also sings opera well enough to perform at various concert halls and charity events.The guys got a lot going for him, certainly more than the average football player.Hes a 27-year-old guy, a performer, a very confident guy, Harbaugh said. You can call it whatever you want in terms of cocky or confident. Whats the balance there? I dont personally think he has a hint of arrogance in him at all. I think hes a fundamentally humble person who loves life, loves to perform.Especially when the Ravens need a long field goal. Tucker insisted on trying that 57-yarder into the wind on Sunday, and believes on a good day he can blast one through the uprights from unprecedented lengths.It is in the realm of possibility for me, with Morgan and Sam, to hit the ball from well across midfield, he said. We are talking about 70-75 yards. What matters is that we made the kicks we were sent out there to make (Sunday), and I will leave it at that.One of these days, maybe even this season, Tucker will miss a kick. If that happens, its a good bet that he will simply shrug it off and get ready for the next one.As a kicker, you have to be able to get over your last kick -- whether its bad or good -- and be able to move on, Koch said. He has the character that allows him to do that. He has fun. Thats important.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Mitchell Robinson Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Troy Brown Jr. Jersey . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticnba.us/ . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Isaac Bonga Jersey . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Grayson Allen Jersey .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. TAMPA, Fla. -- Frank Martins uneasiness about how No. 16 South Carolina might respond to its first loss of the season was unfounded.PJ Dozier and Duane Notice assured that, stepping up in the absence of leading scorer Sindarius Thornwell to help the Gamecocks (9-1) shrug off cold shooting and pull away to a 77-66 victory over South Florida on Saturday.Dozier scored 11 of his 23 points in the closing minutes and Notice gave South Carolina a spark by contributing 14 of his 15 points after halftime to help the Gamecocks bounce back from last Mondays 67-64 loss to Seton Hall.It was my concern for this basketball team coming into this game, coming off our first loss, being so young, that some guys wouldnt handle it (well). Losing is an epidemic, and losing is not good. And young people dont know how to handle losing, Martin said.It was our first experience as a team to go through it. I think we kind of came out and played the first half like somebody took our dog. We didnt have our enthusiasm, the fight that weve played with every single day out, Martin added. But Im equally as pleased, I thought we played well in the second half as a basketball team. Different guys doing things. Obviously PJ continues to grow as a player here and do unbelievable things. But like I told him, its also his challenge.The Gamecocks (9-1) improved to 2-1 without Thornwell, who has been suspended indefinitely for violating athletic department policy.With Sind being out, we had only two seniors out on the floor. So as Coach said, were young. Were a young team and were just looking to grow, Dozier said.We came out first half a little sluggish. We make our offense out of our defense and wasnt doing that the first half, the 6-foot-6 sophomore guard added. We went into the locker room and Coach gave us that word that we needed and came out with the intensity we should have started with.Jahmal McMurray led USF (5-4) with 25 points. Malik Fitts had 12 points and Geno Thorpe finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls, who led 37-31 at halftime.South Carolina began the second half with a 17-9 burst to take a 48-41 lead. Dozier and Notice keyed the initiial surge and Dozier took over down the stretch, when the Gamecocks led by as many as 13.ddddddddddddWe got, maybe, a little bit complacent. Didnt come out with the fire that we had in the first half, McMurray said. The second half, we just have to ... come out with the same fire.THE BIG PICTURESouth Carolina, which has its highest ranking since being No. 14 in the final poll of the 1997-98 season, obviously misses Thornwell, who leads them in assists, as well as scoring and rebounding. With Notice missing the first eight shots he attempted, including six from 3-point range, the Gamecocks trailed at halftime for the first time this season.Not surprisingly, South Florida faded down the stretch. Luis Santos made a layup to trim South Carolinas lead to 64-61 with 7 minutes left, however the Bulls didnt score again from the field until Bo Zeiglers basket with 29 seconds left.FIRST BIG TESTSouth Carolina is only Power 5 opponent USF is scheduled to face this season. The Bulls fell to 0-4 against ranked opponents under coach Orlando Antigua and have dropped 20 consecutive games to Top 25 opponents since knocking off No. 15 Louisville on the road on Feb. 29, 2012.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Gamecocks may lose some ground in the next AP poll, however, rebounding on the road -- albeit against an opponent thats had its share of problems against a weak schedule -- will likely keep the Gamecocks in the Top 25.UNIENDO LOS TOROSUSF designated Saturday as Uniendo Los Toros, which in English translates to Uniting The Bulls. The game featured two of three Hispanic-American head coaches in NCAA Division I in South Carolinas Martin and USFs Antigua. Miamis Jim Larranaga is the third. Early arrivals among the announced crowd of 2,489 at the Sun Dome received white T-shirts commemorating the occasion.UP NEXTSouth Carolina: Returns home to face intrastate rival Clemson on Wednesday.South Florida: Faces Northern Illinois at home on Tuesday.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '