Elton Jantjies froze on the big stage, as did Lions team

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears took a gamble when they drafted Kyle Long.It has paid off in a big way, and they rewarded him with a four-year contract extension.The Bears locked up their star right guard and three-time Pro Bowl lineman through the 2021 season on Wednesday.Ive known since Day 1 that I wanted to be a Chicago Bear for life and get an opportunity to play for the best franchise in football in the best city in America, said Long, who had two years remaining on his contract.When the talk started about it, I said, `Look, I dont want to be a part of the talks, but what I do want you guys to understand is that I want to be here forever and get it done, so thats what they did.Its an important step for a team last in the NFC North at 6-10 in its first season under general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox.Long is one of seven Bears to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven seasons, a list that includes Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka and Brian Urlacher.With the signing of Josh Sitton on Sunday following his surprise release from Green Bay, Chicago has two elite guards to help protect quarterback Jay Cutler and open holes for running backs.The moves on the line combined with the overhaul to the front seven on defense have the Bears aiming higher this season, starting with the opener Sunday at Houston.Kyle is extremely talented, a great teammate and more than deserving of this contract, Pace said. He is a big piece of the foundation we are building and we only expect him to continue to get better. We are excited to announce this long-term commitment to Kyle.Fox echoed that, saying, He brings the right mindset every day to work. I think hes a leader in that locker room, so obviously an important cog of hopefully what well be about moving forward.Long was seen as something of a gamble when former general manager Phil Emery drafted him out of Oregon with the 20th pick in 2013. After all, he had limited experience in college and a history that included a DUI and academic issues that nearly derailed him.The son of Hall of Famer Howie Long, Kyle Long was drafted in 2008 in the 23rd round as a left-handed pitcher out of high school in Virginia by the Chicago White Sox.He went to Florida State on a baseball scholarship rather than turn pro, lasted one semester because of grades and got a DUI in January 2009. He failed academically at Piedmont Community College in Virginia before heading west to Saddleback Junior College in Southern California.Long decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother Chris, an NFL defensive end, but found he was better suited to block than tackle.Despite playing just one season at Oregon and appearing in 11 games, Long quickly blossomed into a standout lineman and one of the most popular players in Chicago.I found something that I can improve every day on, help those around and have that 8-year-old mentality where youre flying around at recess the whole time with your buddies, he said. Thats what its about.Long made the Pro Bowl his first two years as a right guard, and he made it again last season after being switched to right tackle when the Bears cut Jordan Mills just before the opener.The offseason signing of right tackle Bobby Massie cleared the way for Long to move back inside. And with the addition of Sitton -- a player Long helped recruit -- on the left side, the guard spots could be a strength for the Bears for the next few years, barring a position switch or unexpected decline.A healthy and effective Long figures to take the load off Massie and the center -- be it veteran Ted Larsen or rookie Cody Whitehair. Long suffered a shoulder injury in the second preseason game at New England that kept him out of practice until Monday. But he said he feels great, ready to roll.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Vapormax Flyknit 3 Sverige . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 35 Herr http://www.airvapormaxsverige.com/air-max-tn-rea.html .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Air Max Tn Dam .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Nike Air Vapormax Plus Dam . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. When are the New Zealand rugby public going to ease up on the All Blacks?They are never satisfied.When we have a team that is doing really, really well, we continue to look for the drama all the time. Why cant fans just sit back and enjoy what is being played out in front of them?Lets face it, the quality of rugby the All Blacks are playing is sensational. No-one can complain they are not getting their moneys worth when watching them play. But the attitude of New Zealand fans blows me away. We have never been able to have enough of winning, but the All Blacks are a great streak and we are still managing to criticise one way or another.Theres no such thing as perfection, in any walk of life; thats just the reality. But when youve got something that is pretty close with a team that is growing and doing really good things, your job as a fan is to sit back and enjoy not criticise it.Lets not forget that when this whole international season started no-one was expecting this sort of rugby from a team that had lost so much experience. Steve Hansen admitted that, and now four international sides, Wales, Australia, Argentina and South Africa know how it feels.The way it stands at the moment, the success is almost working against the team.It is the nature of New Zealand fans, not only in rugby, but other sports as well. At the same time, all those sports do tend to bring the best out of themselves because they are fuelled by a desire to prove the doubters wrong.Its the sportspeople who go out onto the field, or to the Olympics or Paralympics or whatever, who respond to those people who tell them: Youll never do this, or youll never do that. They get out there and show people they can do it, and I guess thats probably because we are such hard knockers that it brings out the best in our athletes.But you do have to wonder how much better they might be if they didnt have to go through that and could concentrate on their sports and playing to their best.I remember losing a couple of games for Wasps when playing in England and being almost embarrassed to go out and sign autographs for fans afterwards and to shake their hands. They were telling me that everything would be fine and that a win would come along eventually. And they would still be there to watch it.My belief was that it wasnt the attitude I had come from in New Zealand. What the fans were saying was they could accept it, and were used to it, but having come from the All Blacks and Auckland environment of the 1990s, that wasnt something I could accept. And I couldnt understand why they could accept it.This All Blacks team have been put on a massive pedestal where a whole bunch of New Zealanders are finding any reason they can to eat away at the bottom of it to cause it all to come crashiing down.ddddddddddddts frustrating: How good were they on Saturday night?They were as good as they could be, and South Africa to their credit played well -- much like Argentina the week before. They did what they could do but they just couldnt live the All Blacks.If I were Owen Franks, I would be getting outside Dane Coles whenever he touches the ball because he just seems to be able to put people over the tryline.Ive got a good mate, who I spent a lot of time throwing my arm around and smashing in the front-row for Auckland and the All Blacks in Sean Fitzpatrick, who is generally regarded as one of the great All Blacks of all time.But Dane Coles is certainly reminding me a lot of Fitzy, especially in his attitude towards that All Blacks jersey, and the way he plays the game; he has got leadership written all over him. If ever Dane Coles is out there when Kieran Read had an injury then as a shining light in the No. 2 jersey Coles epitomises what being an All Blacks players is all about.Weve watched this kid mature.Ive criticised him at times for his hot temper but he has that under control, although a hot temper directed in the right way can be a good thing. If he can harness that and point it in the right direction in all that he keeps doing he could be incredible; he is still coming to his peak and has a lot of years ahead of him.Regarding the other night, we need to take one step outside and look back at teams like South Africa and Australia, who have key players out injured, and recognise they do not have the depth that New Zealand enjoy.I do think Elton Jantjies froze on the big stage, as did Lions teammate Faf de Klerk inside him. Theyve had a great year and done really well with the Lions, but theyve had to step up to international level and they look like theyre lacking experience.Its thrown out there all the time, but experience means that you just go and do your job, and you dont freeze, when the spotlight is on you.But if youve never been there before and you have to front up to a full stadium and 50 million people around the world watching, you can sometimes go back into your shell; and I think the Springboks halves did that on Saturday.Its a bit like Argentina in Perth. They failed to start like they did against New Zealand and suddenly after 15 minutes they were 21 points down. With all the best intents in the world, that is game over.Perhaps that is a measure of how much their effort against New Zealand took it out of them because they certainly didnt look the same side. And again that is experience as they are still getting used to this competition and the need for consistency above all. ' ' '