Latest news with #MatthewWright
New York Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ryan Fitzgerald brings accuracy and a big leg to the Panthers' kicking competition
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Before he signed with the Carolina Panthers on Friday, Ryan Fitzgerald already had a favorite barbecue spot in Charlotte and a private gym where he worked out alongside Luke Kuechly and current Panthers players Andy Dalton and Chandler Zavala this past winter. Besides a strong leg and an accurate aim, Fitzgerald brings a comfort level to the Panthers' kicking competition. Advertisement 'I love it so far,' he said. Fitzgerald was in Charlotte from January through March, training with his kicking coach, Dan Orner, a former North Carolina kicker who has worked with a number of former and current NFL players, including new Panthers punter Sam Martin. Fitzgerald ate barbecue at Mac's Speed Shop five or six times, lived in an apartment within walking distance of Quail Hollow Club, site of this week's PGA Championship, kicked at local high schools and on the Charlotte 49ers' fields, and bumped into Kuechly on occasion at the gym. But none of that played a role in the Panthers' decision to sign the Florida State standout as an undrafted free agent and have him compete with veteran Matthew Wright for Eddy Pineiro's old job. 'First of all, accuracy. But then there's a lot of power in his leg,' head coach Dave Canales said when asked what the Panthers saw in Fitzgerald. 'The ball jumps off of his foot. When we're evaluating the kickers, just looking for the guys that have a process. And he certainly has a plan, certainly has a process.' Fitzgerald's process changed during a rough 2022 season in which he made only 12 of 20 field goals for the Seminoles. After trying out a new leg swing that year, Fitzgerald switched back to his previous form and got back on track with a 19-of-21 success rate in 2023. The 5-foot-11, 193-pound Fitzgerald went 13-of-13 last fall to tie Charlotte's Stephen Rusnak as the FBS leader in field goal percentage. Fitzgerald, whose six-year career at FSU included the COVID-shortened season of 2020, was 5-for-5 on field goals of 50-plus yards in 2024, including a 59-yarder that was the third-longest in ACC history. 'Going into 2022, I changed my swing and started off terrible,' Fitzgerald said. 'So I changed it back and I've been money ever since.' Advertisement Pineiro was money for most of his time in Carolina, making 88.9 percent of his field goals to climb into the third spot on the all-time field goal percentage list (at 88.1) behind Justin Tucker and Harrison Butker. But the Panthers didn't have much faith in Pineiro's leg strength, evidenced by his 11 attempts from 50-plus over the past three years. So they signed Wright in February, chose not to re-sign Pineiro (who remains a free agent) and brought in Fitzgerald after the draft. Wright has made 87.3 percent of his field goals since entering the league in 2020. But he's never found an NFL home, playing for six teams over five years. Fitzgerald has kicked in Bank of America Stadium once previously, hitting three field goals — including two in the fourth quarter — to help Florida State beat Louisville 16-6 in the 2023 ACC Championship Game. The Panthers won't wait until training camp to get the competition underway. 'We'll start kicking now. And we'll give those guys opportunities,' Canales said. 'Places I've been in the past in Tampa and Seattle, there was fun things at the end of practice. It's like, 'All right, let's put the guys up. Let's get the team around them and just create a competitive moment.'' Fitzgerald welcomes it. 'I think at this level, every year, regardless of the team, it's gonna be a competition. I love that. I'm a competitor,' he said. 'But the key to that is just focus on myself. It's me versus the uprights, not me versus another guy. I'm sure that's the same for Matt's mindset as well. Just excited to get to work with the guys.' Those uprights were a little skinnier than what Fitzgerald was used to when he joined special teams coach Tracy Smith for some pre-practice kicks Friday at rookie camp. The Panthers have a practice goal post with uprights that are nine feet apart, the Arena League standard that is about half the 18.5-feet width on NFL goal posts. Advertisement 'I kicked pretty good on them. I only missed a couple on the tiny ones, which would've been good on the big ones,' Fitzgerald said. 'It was a pretty solid day.' Fitzgerald has become a pretty solid golfer after he began playing in college. He said there's a similar motion between swinging a golf club and swinging his leg through a kick. 'You can think of the club face as your foot and your path. If you're gonna hit a draw or a fade with a football as well. I typically hit about a 1-yard draw if there's no wind. So it's kind of similar to that,' he said. 'I also draw it on the golf course, too, when I hit it well.' Fitzgerald, a 9-handicap, said he's looking forward to playing with Martin, the former Buffalo Bills punter who is also an avid golfer. Fitzgerald, who grew up in south Georgia an hour north of Tallahassee, Fla., is planning to attend the PGA Championship this week. Told that Panthers owner David Tepper is a Quail Hollow member who could get him on the course to play a round, Fitzgerald laughed and said: 'I'll have to see about that.'
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office holds Active Threat training
TREMPEAULEAU, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – The Trempealeau County Officer Training is seeing officers from places like Arcadia, Holmen, and Galesville come together at the Whitehall Fire Department to simulate how to stop an active shooting. Patrol Sergeant Andrew Bilski with the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office says training events like these are held to make sure everyone has a basic understanding of what they need to do if something like this were to happen, 'They're going to be expected to figure out where the threat is, go to the threat, take care of the threat if the threat still exists, and then secondary considerations of giving medical treatment to people, evacuating people, and making sure we have out other resources such as fire and EMS coming.' Those with the local police departments say the opportunity to train with other departments is valuable. Sgt. Matthew Wright, with the Trempealeau Police Department, says, 'This is something that obviously no one ever wants to see, but we want our officers to be fully prepared if the event does occur. We want them to be prepared to handle it appropriately and keep everybody safe. Lt. Aaron Hintz, with the Holmen Police Department, adds, 'We have a working relationship with Trempealeau County. If they need help from us to try or to find someone down by us, we'll do that. They'll do the same for us. On a large-scale incident, which we hope never happens, but should something like that happen, we're going to be coming to help each other out. Getting together and training is very beneficial.' While Trempealeau County officials say they don't see mass casualty incidents often, Patrol Sgt. Bilski says all agencies need to be prepared for anything, 'This is something that's just like regular firearms training, or legal update training. It's a skill that needs to be practiced in order to maintain and do as well as we can for if and when an actual incident like this were to ever occur.' The training will continue with similar training exercises. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trade Nation Wins "Most Reliable Tech" at TradingView Awards
LONDON, Feb. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning FCA regulated fintech and financial services provider Trade Nation is pleased to announce it has received its first accolade of 2025, being recognised as the "Most Reliable Tech" provider at this year's TradingView awards. Matthew Wright, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Trade Nation, said: "We are delighted to commence 2025 in such a positive manner and once again be recognised for our technology's reliability. Ensuring our clients have the best tech to trade with is imperative and allows traders to take advantage of Trade Nation's industry leading low-cost, fixed spreads offering. Thank you TradingView for rewarding us as the winner of the Most Reliable Tech category!" Being recognised in this category is testament to the hard work of the Trade Nation team who are dedicated to delivering low-cost fixed spreads, transparency, stability, innovation and trader-centric solutions. As global markets continue to evolve, Trade Nation remains dedicated to refining its technology to meet the growing demands of modern traders. This award is just the start for Trade Nation as plans are in place to make even greater enhancements to their technology providing even more trading tools, whilst maintaining robust and secure trading platforms to ensure traders have access to the most reliable and cutting-edge trading solutions. Rauan Khassan, Vice President International Growth of TradingView, said: "Technology sits at the core of our partnership, and developing stable and functional product integrations has always been one of TradingView's foremost priorities. We are excited to work with Trade Nation who distinguished itself with the 2024 Most Reliable Tech award thanks to a reliable and consistent API build and look forward to achieving new milestones together." The TradingView Broker Awards is an annual celebration of platform-integrated broker partners based on their broker profile ratings. Only TradingView users with verified, connected live accounts can submit ratings and reviews, ensuring authentic feedback from real traders. Awards are presented across a wide selection of categories, including asset-specific and regional distinctions, highlighting excellence in brokerage services worldwide. About Trade Nation Regulated in multiple jurisdictions including the UK where Trade Nation is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 525164. Founded in 2014 Trade Nation is an award-winning, globally established fintech and financial services provider with a headcount of over 120 employees, with offices spanning the globe from London to Sydney and teams in South Africa, Seychelles and The Bahamas. With a management team that has a combined industry experience of over 200 years, Trade Nation is dedicated to ensuring it offers the best trading services, whilst taking the responsibility of protecting customer funds as the number one priority. W: Risk Warnings and Disclaimer Financial Spread Bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This communication is for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as any form of recommendation as to a particular course of action or as investment advice. It is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument or as an official confirmation of any transaction. Opinions, estimates and assumptions expressed herein are made as of the date of this communication and are subject to change without notice. This communication has been prepared based upon information, including market prices, data and other information, believed to be reliable; however, Trade Nation does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. All market prices and market data contained in or attached to this communication are indicative and subject to change without notice. Photo - View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Trade Nation Sign in to access your portfolio
