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An old adage in college football has been never play for a field goal.It might be time for the pros to take heed.Particularly in overtime.For the first time in 19 years, the NFL has had two ties in a season. On consecutive weekends, no less, and punctuated by poor placekicking. It nearly was three draws, including a pair on Sunday, which would have been a league first. But Oakland knocked off Tampa Bay with 1:45 remaining in overtime by avoiding a field goal try and throwing for the winning points.Ties are strange creatures in the NFL, and coaches tend to be unsure how to avoid them. Should they be aggressive or conservative in the extra session? How do you use the clock? Most importantly, when do you strategize for a winning kick?Maybe the answer to that one is simply never.Bruce Arians and Pete Carroll were burned by that approach in the 6-6 deadlock between Arizona and Seattle last weekend. On Sunday, in a 27-27 tie in London between Washington and Cincinnati that was one of the most watchable games of a mostly pedestrian 2016 season so far, the Redskins got scorched by a field goal failure in OT. The Bengals had their kicking woes in regulation.I need to make those kicks, bottom line, said Dustin Hopkins , who hooked a 34-yarder in OT seconds after his successful kick was negated because Cincinnati called a timeout. I try my very best every time I go out, and thats kind of the only standard I can hold myself to. Obviously, I expect more from myself. I cant expect anything more from these guys. They played their heart out, so Im disappointed for them.Just as disappointing as the botched kicks by Hopkins or Arizonas Chandler Catanzaro or Seattles Steven Hauschka is the uncertainty on the part of Arians, Carroll, Washingtons Jay Gruden and Cincinnatis Marvin Lewis for handling overtime. Gruden even facetiously suggested he and his players didnt know games could end in ties.I dont know how to react, Gruden said. I didnt think it was possible to tie. I know there was a tie last week in Arizona, but I was like, `How the heck did they tie?Now we know.Draws -- yes, a nod to the 27-27 affair in England -- also confuse the playoff tiebreakers. All four of the teams who played ties this month made the playoffs last year. If they become contenders again, well, good luck figuring out all the permutations.While those ties were packed with drama, they werent necessarily filled with strong play. Its generally true that defenses get worn down quicker than offenses in the NFL, and that looked particularly true of the Bengals on Sunday. They were spared defeat as much by mistakes by Washington as anything.On the other hand, in the Cardinals-Seahawks prime tie last Sunday, the play of both defenses ranged from stingy to spectacular. Sure, there was some clunky offense, but much of it was caused by the likes of Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson.Theres also the issue of exhaustion. A 60-minute game, especially if its close and extremely physical, usually leads to underwhelming overtimes. While the situations have improved with the current rule that, barring an immediate touchdown both teams must get a possession, the coin toss to begin OT still has too big a role. The team going on offense first has a huge edge -- witness the Cowboys victory Sunday night against Philadelphia.While the NFL is loath to copy nearly anything the colleges originated, perhaps something similar to their OTs would provide a more level playing field. One thing it would ensure is no more ties.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Luke Glendening Jersey . 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NEW YORK -- The chief of NBC Sports said Thursday the Rio Games are a huge hit and that he doesnt anticipate having to make concessions to advertisers.While NBCs prime-time viewership for the Rio games hasnt reached the levels of London 2012, the dip has been offset by increases in people streaming content to their mobile devices or watching on cable networks like Bravo and NBCSN, said Mark Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Sports Group. He expects there to be more streamed content from Rio than for all of the previous Olympics combined.The Olympics are dominating the media landscape, Lazarus said.Despite social media complaints about the number of commercials for the opening ceremony, Lazarus said there were actually fewer commercials shown that night than for the London festivities. NBC did front-load many of the commercials early in the broadcast in more freqquent breaks.ddddddddddddAfter a disastrous start for the opening ceremony and first night of competition, NBC viewership picked up with the success of the U.S. swimmers and gymnasts.Often a failure to live up to promised viewing levels results in make-goods, or advertisers being offered free time. But Lazarus said advertisers will leave the game getting what they paid for, and that NBC has sold an additional $30 million in advertising time since the games started. Before the start, NBC said it had sold $1.2 billion in advertising time.Viewership has met NBCs expectations, its just the mix is a little different, he said.Rio 2016 is a huge hit, Lazarus said. We are aggregating audiences at a scale that no one has ever seen before. ' ' '