High school football participation slightly increased during the previous school year.According to the National Federation of State High School Associations , the total number of athletes taking part in 11-player football in 2015-16 increased by 80 to 1,085,272. The increase can be attributed to more girls participating. This past year, a record 1,964 played football, which was up from 1,565 the year before.Thirty-two states had girls participating in football. California had the most with 333 followed by Ohio (245), Texas (178), Arizona (115) and Colorado (109).There were 24 states that reported increased boys participation. From 2013 to 2014, there was a decline of nearly 10,000 boys who played football.NFHS Executive Director Bob Gardner said he was encouraged over the slight increase and credited the adoption of state laws and protocols for concussion management.Flag football is booming, with an 18 percent increase to 12,093. The sport has been extremely popular with girls but there were 69 schools that had offered the sport to boys last year, which was more than double the 32 one year earlier.Overall participation in high school sports reached an all-time high of 7,868,900, an increase of 61,853 from the previous year.Girls participation increased for the 27th straight year and set an all-time high of 3,324,326. Glen Rice Hornets Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Alonzo Mourning Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. https://www.hornetslockerroom.com/Cody-Martin-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Marvin Williams Hornets Jersey . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Robert Franks Jersey . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings have their new kicker.The team announced on Wednesday it had signed Kai Forbath to replace Blair Walsh, whom the Vikings released Tuesday after his fourth missed extra point of the season.It was just something we felt like we needed to do, kind of move forward, coach Mike Zimmer said. Were all accountable for the things we have to get done, and I think we gave him a lot of opportunities. Although, Blairs a great kid, and it was hard to do.Forbath, who kicked for the Washington Redskins from 2012 to 2015 and spent part of the 2015 season with the New Orleans Saints, and was one of six kickers to try out for the Vikings last week, after Walsh missed an extra point and had a field goal attempt blocked against the Detroit Lions on Nov. 6.Forbath, who played with Vikings punter Jeff Locke and long snapper Kevin McDermott at UCLA from 2008 to 2010, made 60 of his 69 career field goal attempts with the Redskins but struggled in New Orleans last year, going 10-for-15 on field goal aattempts.dddddddddddd.It actually is pretty crazy, Forbath said Wednesday. We train together every offseason - me, Jeff, Blair and Kevin. Thats like our little group in the offseason. Its a tough business and Ive learned it. And its too bad (Walsh) is having to go through it now, too.Hell get a chance to turn things around with the Vikings after the team decided to release Walsh, whod struggled for stretches of the 2016 season after missing a 27-yard attempt in the teams NFC wild-card loss to the Seattle Seahawks in January.Walsh, who signed a four-year, $13 million contract extension with the Vikings in July 2015, is still owed $1.5 million on his signing bonus next spring. The Vikings will count Walsh for $1.78 million against their 2016 salary cap and had just more than $900,000 in cap space to start the week, before signing tackle Rashod Hill on Tuesday and Forbath on Wednesday. ' ' '