EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Kai Forbath spent his first morning in Minnesota at the stadium where hell make his debut with the Vikings, testing his footing on the artificial turf and gawking a bit at the light-filled, luxurious building that will give him the advantage of a controlled climate.Such conditions are every kickers preference. The same goes for the fresh start Forbath will be afforded with his new team and its discouraged fan base.This isnt my first time coming in and replacing someone, said Forbath, who finalized his contract with the Vikings on Wednesday following the teams fourth straight loss and the release of struggling incumbent Blair Walsh.Forbath, whos 69 for 82 on field goals (84.1 percent) and 124 for 127 on extra points (97.6 percent) over his NFL career, also has the benefit of working with fellow UCLA products long snapper Kevin McDermott and punter/holder Jeff Locke.So Im feeling pretty confident going into it, said Forbath, who was part of a six-man tryout group last week before the Vikings decided to give Walsh one more opportunity to escape his slump.Forbath overlapped with McDermott and Locke in the program for three years, and theyre offseason workout partners in Los Angeles along with, coincidentally, Walsh, who missed his league-most fourth extra point last week at Washington.Having been cut by the Redskins one game into the 2015 season, Forbath knew that feeling of sudden job loss.Ive learned the hard way that this is a tough business. I obviously wish him the best, Forbath said, adding: He did really well for a long time. Im just here to take it one kick at a time, and hopefully Ill be here for a long time.Forbath estimated the long end of his field goal range around 57 yards. One of the reasons Washington cited in cutting him last year was a lack of distance on kickoffs, but Forbath said he believes he has improved that skill through experience.Locke handled kickoffs at UCLA, leaving Forbath to focus on extra points and field goals, but the Vikings want Locke to stay solely a punter during what has been a solid season for him.Its nice to have that familiarity especially with a quick change like this, McDermott said.The cold, hard nature of NFL business sure hit the Vikings specialists hard this week.Its vicious sometimes, and its really hard to see people go through it, but hes going to get an opportunity to go somewhere else, McDermott said.I believe that hes going to be successful in the future and hes just an unbelievable guy, so I really have just the utmost respect for him. I consider him one of my closest friends.With the Vikings (5-4) still tied for first place in the NFC North, they werent willing to keep risking victories with missed kicks.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, its just part of the business.In a season of an almost unfathomable series of shuffles the Vikings have had to make, its only fitting that theyll have another new left tackle Sunday when they host Arizona.Jake Long had surgery Wednesday on his left Achilles tendon, bringing the total of tackles the Vikings have lost to injury since the week before training camp to five.Zimmer wouldnt reveal who would start against the Cardinals, but left guard Alex Boone sounded as though hell be the one to move so the Vikings can keep T.J. Clemmings at right tackle.Ive played it before, Boone said. I just feel like itd be an easier move for me than T.J., but at the end of the day its up to the coaches.In that scenario, Jeremiah Sirles would move to left guard. He has played every position but center this year.We know everyone thats going to be out there, Boone said. Weve just got to figure out where theyre going to be.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLNike NFL Jerseys China .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. https://www.chinajerseysnfl.us/ . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Nike NFL Jerseys Outlet . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Harlequins lock James Horwill should face a short stint on the sidelines owing to the gruesome compound fracture of his finger suffered in Sundays 25-6 defeat at Leicester.Former Australia captain Horwill asked physios to tape up his nasty finger injury so he could keep playing, immediately inking his name into rugbys hard-man annals. Stills of the horrific injury were quickly tweeted and duly went viral.The 31-year-old had no option but to be withdrawn from the closing stages of the Aviva Premiership clash at Welford Road, and has since undergone corrective surgery.Horwills humour has remained undimmed in light of the nasty blow, as he took to social media to offer an update on his recovery.Finger is looking normal again and all good! tweeted Horwill. His message continued: Thanks to Doc @mike_hayton for seeing me on a Sunday. Appreciate all the messages. #COYQSpecialist hand and wrist surgeon Hayton is based in the north-west and was able to quickly carry out the procedures to repair Horwills awful-lookking injury.ddddddddddddTelevision cameras picked up the extent of Horwills injury during Sundays Premiership encounter, leading to immediate messages of respect from fellow rugby stars on Twitter.Former Leicester and England fly-half Andy Goode tweeted a picture of the injury with the message: Fair play to @JHorwill playing for @Harlequins, hard as nails asking the physio to tape this up to play on!Horwill later quipped back: Fair to say my days as a hand model may be over!Harlequins are continuing to monitor Horwills condition before determining when he can return to action.New Zealand full-back Ben Smith suffered a similar injury in the All Blacks 21-9 win over Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.The 30-year-old was immediately led from the field for treatment, with All Blacks boss Steve Hansen quickly ruling him out of New Zealands forthcoming Test clash with France this weekend. 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