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My guest today on "Sports Files"
is New England Patriots kicker

and former Memphis
Tiger Stephen Gostkowski.

[theme music]

It was pretty apparent to the
New England Patriots back in

2006 that Stephen Gostkowski was
going to be a top flight N-F-L

kicker.

Why?

Well, they took Gostkowski in
the fourth round of the N-F-L

draft.

Rarified air for a placekicker.

At the University of Memphis,
the young man affectionately

known as "Gotti" would go on
to break record after record.

In fact his career 369 points,
would rank him 13th on the

all-time division
1-A scoring list.

After being drafted by the Pats,
Gotti would have to beat out

veteran Marteen
Grammatica for the job.

And he did.

The rest is history!

Three N-F-L scoring titles,
two trips to the Pro Bowl,

an all-pro selection and two
appearances in the Super Bowl.

And there is plenty more big
kicks left in that right leg of

his.

Today, Stephen Gostkowski
joins me to talk about the Pats

chances this season and
about his career to date,

a career that has placed him
among the elite placekickers of

all-time.

It's next on "Sports Files."

[theme music]

Gotti, it's great
to see you again.

How ya been?

Doing good.

How are you?

I'm doing fantastic.

I knew you'd come here in the
summer for a short time before

you head back up to New England.

How's the family?

It's growing.

I know that.

Yeah, I got two little boys
now, four and one years old.

And they love it down here.

It's a little too hot for them
and the dog sometimes but it

stinks we've got to be up in New
England during the cold and down

here during the heat.

So maybe I can switch that
around one of these days.

Kids keep you busy.

A whole different
perspective on life now,

right?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

Makes going to
work a lot easier,

you know, to have something
really more important than

football at home.

It makes all of what I, uh,
think is a struggle or a daily

complaint or something that can
happen at practice or at work

doesn't seem to be
that big of a deal.

You're in your ninth
year in the N-F-L.

Has the time just
breezed by or not?

Uh, I would say yeah.

I mean a lot of things happened.

I got married,
had kids, you know,

moved away from,
um, the South and,

um, I've had mostly, um, large
majority of my career has been

successful.

There's been a few hiccups
in the road as there is in

anybody's athletic, uh, career.

Uh, and we've won
a lot of games,

which helps, you know.

Hasn't quite closed it
out and won the big one.

But we're in
contention every year.

We're in the
play-offs almost every year,

which makes the
seasons go by really fast.

And when you're doing
well, it just flies by.

And sometimes, you know, the
days go by really slow and

you're struggling.

But, um, luckily
with my position,

if you struggle too
much, they just cut you.

So, you know, if you're around,
you're doing something good.

Well, I think you're modest
because you're certainly one of

the most prolific
kickers to ever play the game.

It is pretty amazing when
you look at the Patriots,

Adam Vinatieri,
Stephen Gostkowski.

That's been it
for so many years.

We were talking before
we started taping this.

There are teams that go through
four or five kickers in a year

and they're struggling.

So, that's pretty amazing.

Well, you know, a
lot goes in to that.

You know, you find one.

You kind of want to keep him.

And sometimes, uh, depending
on where our team is in that

season, they don't have time to
wait around and give the guy a

proper -- enough time to really
settle in because it's tough to

come in as a
rookie in any position,

let alone one where you only get
a couple of screw-ups a year.

Right.

To do well and mentally, it's
just a tough position to be at.

Um, you know, I've seen guys
that are really talented that

just can't handle it mentally.

And then, there's guys like me
that are too dumb to know any

better.

So, uh, you know, it's nice.

I struggled a little bit my
rookie year but not anything

that costs us games.

And I got to work through it and
the team always showed a lot of

confidence in me.

And, um, I think
that helps out a lot.

You see some of
these teams where,

you know, the kicker misses on
kick and they're quick to point

the finger and think that's the
only thing that's keeping them

from winning games, which
it takes a lot more than one

player, no matter what
position, to win games.

How long did it take once
you were in the N-F-L with the

Patriots to become, you
know, part of the gang?

You were open with, you
know, open arms and warm hearts.

And they said,
"Alright, Stephen,

"you're a part of us now."

I'm sure it took a little
time before you got that.

Yeah, I mean, you're told
the first couple of days,

especially when you're rookie,
don't try to run with the

veterans.

A lot of them have kids.

They have wives.

They, you know, have millions
upon millions of dollars.

And you come in and you can't
just jump in and expect to be

accepted right away.

So, I think it's something
that's got to be earned

naturally.

You can't just
force is upon people.

And I went in with the attitude
that people are either going to

like me or they're not.

Right.

You know, after my rookie year,
I pretty much felt accepted by

most everybody.

It took a while.

I mean there's a lot of
intimidating people on the team

when I first got
there with, you know,

Tom Brady, Tedy
Bruschi, Mike Vrabel,

Richard Seymour.

Bill Belichick!

Bill Belichick.

Well, me and Bill
don't hang out too much.

No, but, you know, I made a lot
of really good friends up there.

You know, I've always wanted
people to get to know me for me

and not because, uh, I
kick or do anything else.

And I feel like I've made
a lot of friends that way.

Not to mention, you
follow Adam Vinatieri.

You followed a guy who was
adored and did so many great

things for the Patriots.

So, you talk about pressure.

You were drafted in
the fourth round,

which is very rare
for a kicker anyway.

And you said that you were
a little surprised by that.

So, you would think that
there would be natural pressure.

But you really
handled that well.

And the rest is history
so far in your career.

But that was big shoes to fill,
to jump right in there after

Adam Vinatieri and replace him.

Yeah, I think its pressure
enough just to be in the N-F-L.

So, and I don't know if anyone's
ever put more pressure on me

than myself.

I've always been
my own worst enemy,

my own worst critic.

I get more upset
at myself if I, uh,

screw up or have a bad play than
anyone else in the stands or in

the media could ever, you know.

And I don't even listen
to what anybody says,

good or bad, about my football
career because it just doesn't

do any better.

I know what I'm doing well.

And if people
talk nice about me,

it can -- You can tend to
get a big head about it.

And then, if, you know, people
are talking bad about you and

you get ticked off, you want
to go out and prove everybody

wrong.

And I just feel like that's a
distraction that I don't need.

And if I focus on just making
kicks and helping the team win

then I'm doing it right and
that's what I've tried to

stress.

The team sets you up
in a good situation.

As you know in New England,
we're not looking to read every

media outlet and read every
story that's written about us.

We don't.

You know, no offense
to the writers but,

you know, they're not basing the
game plan off what the people in

the Boston Globe say.

We worry about what we need to
do and our job and everything

else takes care of itself.

From the media standpoint,
on the outside looking in,

you always hear
stories about -- Wow!

In the N-B-A, the Spurs is
the best organization without

question.

In Major League
Baseball, the Cardinals.

In the N-F-L, we always
hear about the Patriots way.

I mean how great of
an organization is it?

And it's the only
organization you've known.

I don't know any different but
it's such a great place to be.

And Mister Craft -- I can't
imagine there being a more

personable owner and someone who
truly cares about his players.

You know, guys got
more money than he,

you know, knows what to do with.

All those owners do.

Sure.

And you can have a one-on-one
conversation about him.

He called me
after I had my kids.

You know, he called me
after I had a surgery.

He called my wife out
of surgery one time.

Just he -- for a..

Especially in a place, in a
profession where there's a lot

of turnover, we
have, you know, 15,

20, 30 new guys on
the team every year.

I think he does a really good
job of balancing professionalism

and personalism.

I can't imagine playing
for a better owner and,

you know, Coach Belichick
is the best coach ever.

I mean I can't.

I don't know.

Never been around another head
coach that has seemed to have

all his stuff together and have
his hands tied in every little

thing that goes on
in an organization.

How different -- if
he is different..

How different is he
in the clubhouse,

behind closed
doors, as his persona,

meeting the press and
talking after a game?

Well, I mean, he is kind of
what you see is what you get.

He is all business.

If it doesn't have to
deal with football,

you know, he is probably not
going to sit there and talk

about it.

But there's a lot more
stuff that goes in to football,

like, you know, working
hard, staying out of trouble,

all these things, what
to do on a daily basis.

You know, he's a
very, very funny guy.

So, he is?

He has a dry sense of humor.

Um, it's just, uh, you know,
he's just very business-like.

And, you know, there's sometimes
where he has to keep it light.

He does a good job of that.

But, you know, 95% of the
time, it's all business.

It's all football.

He keeps the guys on a
straightened path and I think he

does a really good job of that.

Eight years in the N-F-L.

About to start your
ninth, as I imagine.

You've been to two Super Bowls.

You've played in
two Super Bowls,

two pro-bowl games, three
times N-F-L scoring leader,

deemed an all-pro kicker.

I would imagine the only thing
missing from the resume is to

complete the deal and
to win the Super Bowl.

Yeah, I mean, I think that's the
one thing that I could look back

and have any regrets.

I mean I can stop playing now
and be happy with what we did.

But it is a team game.

And to be so
close so many times,

you know.

I played in the A-F-C
Championship game I think five

times.

Wow!

So, we've been close.

And it's a lot of heartache.

And sometimes it's tough to get
yourself up for that next season

to get close.

And always keep coming close.

But, you know, we have
such a good organization,

a good team.

And we always seem
to have a chance.

And we don't look too..

We don't come in day one saying,
"We got to win the Super Bowl or

else."

Like, let's just
get better today.

Let's work hard and get
ready for that first game.

And I think that helps us out
to help us with being consistent

and not setting
unattainable goals.

I mean everybody has
this same goal to win.

Um, but you're not going to
see guys for the New England

Patriots go out there and
say, "I'm going to be the best

so-and-so to
ever play the game,

or, " We're going to win 15
games or it's going to be a

disappointing season."

We just don't operate like that.

We just worry about,
you know, the Dolphins,

which is our first game.

Is Brady pretty down-to-earth?

Yeah, Brady is a
really good guy.

He's kind of like
Coach Belichick,

all business-like.

He is one of the hardest workers
I've ever seen and been around.

And, you know, he has
a good sense of humor,

too.

He is a good guy.

And, you know, if he's talking,
he's usually talking to his

linemen or his receivers
trying to get guys and make sure

they're in the right place.

He is just very competitive and
he is not afraid to tell people

that, you know, he controls on
the offense when they're not

doing the right thing.

How much did your
teammates love when..

And I'm testing my
52-year-old memory here.

You made a big
tackle in the Super Bowl,

right?

Did you make a big
tackle in a play-off game?

I made a couple tackles
in one play-off game,

yeah.

When you make a tackle and
a kicker gets out there..

I know you're a bigger guy and
you're a little bit different

than the prototypical kicker.

How much do they get in to that?

It depends.

I mean they..

I don't know.

Sometimes they get hyped
up and sometimes don't.

But I think the guys know that
they know that I can at least

get in the way.

So, I've got like 23
or 24 career tackles.

That's incredible!

But we do kick-off a lot.

There was a time we
were scoring five or six,

seven touchdowns a game.

And, you know, we've
always had good cover schemes.

But covering like
seven, eight kicks a game,

you know, sometimes they might
break one out to like the 40 and

I'll be there to tackle or
push them out of bounds.

I mean if I push
them out of bounds,

it counts as a tackle.

There you go!

But I've had a
couple go-ins to my name.

And yeah, they get excited.

But if I miss one,
they're not like,

"Aw, come on, man!"

Right, they don't
expect that from the kicker.

But, hey, you know, open
field tackling is tough.

Some of the best athletes in
the world can't even do it.

So, I just try to get as close
to the sidelines as possible.

What's your biggest kick
so far in your career?

Uh, I mean it's hard to say.

I would say my
whole rookie play-off.

I went eight for eight with a
game winner against San Diego.

And that really just
showed me that I could do it.

You know, um, anyone can
be successful in different

situations.

And, you know, the pressure was
put on big time my rookie year

in the play-offs.

Oh, you did okay.

What's he going to
do in the play-offs?

And everybody was
looking for me to,

you know.

So, that really showed me that I
belonged and that I could do it.

You know, they're all big.

You know, you're two,
three, four misses away from,

you know, looking for a job.

So, it's always the next
kick that's the biggest one.

And I've, you know,
I've had a decent,

um, you know,
percentages and stuff like that.

But I don't look at them
as really any differently.

You're pretty
even-keel out there.

I mean you can pretty much
tell even from watching it on

television that you are,
that you don't get too excited.

You're 30 years of age, which
is still obviously very young.

But in football years, it's
starting to get up there.

Physically, do you
still feel the same?

Is it the same regiment?

You still feel like you
were when you were 21,

22, 23?

We have to alter
it a little bit.

I'm definitely
stronger and in my prime,

so to speak.

But it takes a lot
longer to recover,

a lot longer to get going.

I used to just show
up and be able to,

you know, run and workout and
kick and do whatever for days.

And now, you know, it's almost
like a little regiment to get

yourself going.

You know, you wake
up in the morning.

You feel a little bit.

Your back hurts a little bit.

Your knees hurt a little bit.

And when you do something like
kicking and you do it millions

and millions of times, you know,
you tend to have an overuse

thing.

It's kind of like when I'd
pitch and play baseball.

Your arm gets tired eventually.

But I would say I feel just as
good if not better at this age.

I definitely take better
care of myself now than I did,

you know, five,
six, seven years ago.

I could always do better.

It just takes a little
longer to get going.

I think that's it.

But I'm definitely
stronger than I have ever been.

Give me 20 seconds on the
prospects for this year for all

the Patriots fans out there,
for Clifford over here on the

camera, a big Patriots fan.

You bet you'll be
back in the race?

I mean we hope so.

We always feel like we
have a decent chance.

And, you know, like I
said, we take it game-by-game.

But we got a lot
of guys returning.

And, you know, we had a
really good year last year,

um, considering the
amount of, you know,

all-pro, pro-ball type players
that we had injured like Jerod

Mayo, Vince Wilfork.

With those guys coming back
and the addition of guys like

Darrelle Revis and
Brandon Browner,

um, and Tommy Kelly,
um, and, you know,

the offense is always going to
be the offense with Tom Brady.

A lot of it comes
down to just, you know,

execution and, you
know, staying healthy.

And a lot plays
in to it, as well.

Uh, you know, with Coach
Belichick I always feel like

we're going to have a shot.

Stephen, we like to end every
interview with something called

"Five for the Road."

So, first thing
that comes to mind.

Five quick questions for ya.

What's your favorite
professional team?

You can't say the Patriots.

The Spurs.

Favorite pro
athlete of all time.

Federer.

Really?

Heck of a match he had recently.

Favorite music.

What do you listen to?

I like it all.

I like a lot of old school rock.

Do you like to
listen before a game?

Yeah, I do.

I don't like pump-up music
before a game because I try to

stay even keel.

Favorite movie of all time.

"Forrest Gump."

"Forrest Gump?"

Okay.

Favorite t-v show.

Uh, it's tough.

I like..

I mean there's a lot
of good ones on now.

"Breaking Bad" is pretty good.

Sure.

"Seinfeld."

Yeah, you watch all the re-runs?

Anything current?

Current, "Walking
Dead" is pretty good.

Would you like Hard-Knocks
to come to New England?

No, it'd be a pain in the butt.

Would that change
things a little bit,

like how you have
to conduct yourself?

Yeah, I mean you
just don't want it.

I wouldn't want to be on
national t-v saying something

stupid to embarrass
myself and my family.

Because you could
never get rid of it.

It's going to
always be out there.

You've got to watch
out what you say.

You know, we're
up there all day.

Guys are going to act stupid.

You've got to watch
out what you say anyway.

Um, it would just be..

I think thinking about that
would distract you from actual

practice.

Well, you've done
nothing to embarrass yourself.

In fact, the pride of
the University of Memphis.

What you've done with
New England so far.

Boy, you're nine years in but I
know you've got a long career

still ahead of you.

Stephen, thank you so much.

Absolute pleasure.

Thank you.

We'll take a quick break.

"Overtime" is next.

[theme music]

So here's my
question to all of you.

How's your golf game?

Well, I sure hope it's improved
over the last six months since

we introduced our
"Golf made Easy" segment.

It's never too
late to get better,

and here's another way with this
month's lesson from Greg King,

the Director of Golf at
Mirimichi So the last time we

were together, we discussed
ability to master the depth of

the divot with
chipping and pitching.

Today what I'd like to talk
to you about is two shots,

the lob shot and the bunker shot
-- some very necessary shots

that you're going to have to be
able to be proficient when you

find yourself around the green
and you've got to use trajectory

to stop the ball or your
short-sided and the green slopes

away from you.

You've got to be able
to hit a high soft shot.

So, one of the first things I
want to talk to you about is the

lob shot.

A lot of people believe
that it's a real risky shot.

I take a different approach.

I think that it's one of the
least risky of shots with the

highest amount of reward.

So, what I want to describe to
you is the bounce on the club

head itself.

So, you'll see the angle between
the leading edge here and my

finger.

And that amount of angle
is defined as balance.

So, as long as I'm
allowing at the hitting zone,

the club head to catch up to
the club head where we have a

vertical shaft at impact, the
part of the club that's hitting

the ground is the back
edge, the bounce edge.

So, all my job is as a player
is to allow the wrist to unhinge

and the club to
get below the ball.

So, if I were hitting
the shot with a driver,

when I'm coming through and
my hands stay open like this,

this would be a big slice.

To give you another
analogy, in tennis,

this would be
like a drop volley.

So, what I'm allowing to happen
is I'm allowing to happen is I'm

allowing these
wrists to unhinge,

the club head to pass the hands
so that the part of the club is

hitting the ground.

Again, it's the back
edge, the riding edge.

So, all I have to do is practice
hitting the club below the ball.

As long as you're getting
the club below the ball,

you're going to be just fine.

You just turn through.

So, to display this shot, I
simply have the club face a

little bit open to my hands.

I aim my body the same amount
open as the club faces are open.

And I go ahead and make a
little swing back and through.

And you'll see it's a
wrist-y motion going through,

allowing the club face to pass.

That's how a lob shot works.

Now let's go take a
look at the bunker shot?

So, the bunker shot is
very similar to the lob shot.

You want to allow
your wrist to hinge up,

allow your wrist to unhinge
through and you turn through

with your upper torso.

The main difference with the
bunker shot versus the lob shot

is you've got to take some sand.

You've got to get the club below
the ball because truthfully,

you never hit the ball
on a green side bunker.

You take a swath of sand.

The energy of the club going
through the sand makes the ball

propel out.

One of the best practices you
can do is you can find a green

side practice bunker is to
simply draw a line in the bunker

and practice hitting the
sand, entering the sand about an

inch-and-a-quarter,
inch-and-a-half prior to that

line.

Two main things.

Let your arms return long.

Get the club below the ball,
through the sand and make sure

you turn through
with upper torso.

So, just like the lob shot,
club face is a little bit open.

Body is similarly open.

We're going to practice.

See if I can hit this
about an inch-and-a-half.

That was a couple
inches prior to the line.

So, I'll do it again.

And you can just.

Some reference of where you're
finding the low spot between

your feet.

Remember, let
your arms fall long.

Let your body turn through and
you're always hitting the sand.

One last thing, one little tip
about green side bunker shots is

if you've got a short shot, you
want to feel like you allow the

speed of the club to dissipate
in the sand and there's not a

lot of follow through speed.

That would look
something like that.

If you've got a long
green side bunker shot,

go ahead and keep your speed
to a bigger follow through.

If you'll do those two things,
that'll help you with your sand

play.

I'll go ahead and hit one and
you'll see that I'll go ahead

and take some sand
and turn through.

That's going to help
you with the sand game.

So, one last little tip about
short games that I'd like to

introduce you to.

It's called the ladder drill.

It's a great way to
prepare for a round of golf.

You simply start off hitting
a short shot 10 or 15 feet.

Then, you try to hit the second
shot and land it on top of that

ball, which will
go out another 10,

15 feet and work
your way up the ladder,

so to speak, all the way up
to about a half wedge or so.

It's a really, really great
way to get a sense of the energy

transfer and your ability to
master that depth of divot in

shots that you're going
to have around the green.

So, the first one
I'll try to hit,

oh, 10 or 15 feet.

I'm just going to take a
little practice swing here.

I hit that one about --
That went about 15 or so.

So, the second one, I'm going
to try to go ahead and land this

ball on top of that ball.

We'll see how we do.

Pretty good!

So, that one went out
about another 10 feet.

And my next effort is to try
to land on that second ball.

So, I'm simply just making a
little bit bigger swing as we go

through.

Not bad, a little bit far.

And we'll do one more.

Just try to hit it another
10 or 15 feet past that one.

Pretty good there!

So, what you want to see is try
to get consistent increments.

It's just a great way to
warm up before the game.

So, if you'll take the time to
warm up before a round of golf,

this is going to help
you shoot lower scores.

Good golf made easy!

We'll see you next time.

Greg will now turn his attention
to putting in our final two

installments of
"Good Golf Made Easy."

Before we say goodbye,
congratulations to Chris Wallace

who earlier this week signed a
new contract with the Grizzlies

to once again become the team's
general manager after being

slapped with the
interim term in May.

Well deserved!

The Grizz also inked Ed
Stefanski to a deal to become

the team's new executive vice
president of player personnel.

Stefanski has worked in front
office positions with the Nets,

76'ers, and most
recently the Raptors.

And that will do
it for the show.

As always, you can watch any our
previous "Sports Files" programs

by going to our website,
WKNO-dot-org and clicking on

'K-N-O Tonite.

Next week I'll talk with Memphis
Tigers Head Football Coach

Justin Fuente, as the Tigers
open up camp this Sunday and

host their first
practice on Monday.

Until then have a great week,
and we'll see you next time.

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  Production funding for

"Sports Files" is
  made possible in part by..

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  Infiniti of Memphis has moved

to Germantown road just half a
  mile north of Wolfchase Galleria

and is proud to support W-K-N-O
  for its quality broadcasting

and service to our community.

Quality and service -- No wonder
  Infiniti of Memphis feels at

home on W-K-N-O..

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