around with a defender on him and fired a wrist shot past Gibson.Game notesThe Ducks opening road swing including home-openers at Dallas last Thursday, at New Jersey on Tuesday and at Philadel

If theres such a thing as a virtuoso on the football field, Vanderbilts Zach Cunningham is your guy. He plays the game so naturally, so instinctively and so consistently.The 6-4, 230-pound redshirt junior linebacker misses tackles the way Eric Clapton misses notes on his guitar.It doesnt happen.Fittingly, Cunningham plays a little guitar himself, going back to his youth at Birminghams New Life Evangelistic Worship Center. He taught himself to play and has since taken a few guitar classes at Vanderbilt. He prefers what he calls jazz type stuff but can play a little bit of everything.As humble as he is talented, Cunningham doesnt hesitate when asked whether hes a better football player or guitar player.Football, for sure, he says.Its doubtful anybody whos tried to block him this season would disagree, regardless of whether theyve heard him play the guitar. Thats because Cunningham has been unblockable. He wrecked just about everything Georgia attempted to do last week with a career-high 19 tackles in Vanderbilts 17-16 win over the Bulldogs, the Commodores first win at Sanford Stadium in a decade.His fourth-down stop of Isaiah McKenzie for no gain to preserve the win is the kind of play Cunningham has been making since he was a gangly 175-pound linebacker at Pinson Valley High School just outside of Birmingham, Alabama.Ive been seeing him do that forever, said Pinson Valley coach Matt Glover. I once saw him take the quarterback, then the fullback with one arm and still get out to the pitch man to make the play. The funny thing is that when he first came to me, he was a running back and we had to talk him into playing linebacker. He didnt like it at first, but looks like he made the right decision.There might be bigger names on the defensive side in college football, and there might be flashier players who get more headlines. But good luck in finding a more complete (or productive) defender than Cunningham, who ranks fourth nationally with 81 total tackles and second nationally with 13 tackles for loss. Against SEC competition, hes been even better with 55 total tackles and nine tackles for loss in four league games.Go back and watch that last play against Georgia, and you dont even see Zach in the picture, Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason marveled. All of a sudden, you see a blur and a snatch. You look up and youre like, Where did he come from? You dont coach that.Hes the best linebacker nobodys talking about.In truth, theyre talking about him, just not as much as they probably should be. One NFL scout told ESPN.com Cunningham had shown the versatility to play in a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme at the next level and was moving up draft boards weekly because of his ability to make plays sideline to sideline. The pro scouts also love Cunninghams length, and even though hes already put on 50 pounds since his high school days, he has the frame to put on 10 or 20 more.Cunningham redshirted his first year at Vanderbilt in 2013, but it didnt take him long to make an impression on Mason. During their first season together in 2014, Vanderbilt was playing Georgia, and Cunningham on three occasions tackled Todd Gurley in one-on-one situations.It was Zach and Gurley one-on-one. It wasnt Zach and somebody else and Gurley, just Zach, and he made the play all three times, Mason recalled. Guys in the NFL dont tackle Gurley in that situation, and it made me realize how special this young man can be. He sees things before they happen and has so many dimensions to him as a player, but what separates him is his ability to close and finish.Cunningham, whos majoring in economics, credits Mason and his inside linebackers coach, Chris Marve, for helping him to become a better tactician and better student of the game.I watch film differently than I used to and have a lot more knowledge of the game and what offenses are trying to do, said Cunningham, who was a first-team All-SEC performer last season. Theyve helped bring more knowledge to me, and thats helped me play even faster and pick up quicker on what teams are trying to do.Marve, who was also an All-SEC linebacker at Vanderbilt, said its always easier to coach someone whos as passionate about the game as Cunningham.Hes in love with the game of football, and you see that every day in the way he prepares, Marve said. Hes always putting in extra time, but he also does a lot of things naturally that you dont see in a lot of players. You hear guys say they want to be great. Zach practices that way and approaches every game that way.Vanderbilt has had a ton of success with players from the state of Alabama. Earl Bennett, Zac Stacy, Jordan Matthews and Reshard Langford all come to mind. Cunningham also managed to get out of the state and signed as part of James Franklins last class at Vanderbilt before Franklin left for Penn State.Glover said hes never seen a player blow up in recruiting circles the way Cunningham did his senior year. He was still 17 when he graduated high school, and it wasnt until the eighth game of his senior season that he received his first SEC offer. The offers came flooding in after that, and Cunningham had Miami, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee all hot on his trail, along with Vanderbilt.Alabama and Nick Saban were interested, but the Crimson Tide wanted Cunningham to grayshirt -- waiting a semester to enroll -- and take that time to bulk up and get stronger. Auburn offered initially, but in the transition from Gene Chizik to Gus Malzahn, Glover said the Tigers informed him late that they were pulling the scholarship offer because they only had one left at linebacker and were saving it for Reuben Foster.The frenzy in the final hour didnt faze Cunningham, who wasnt a big name entering his senior season because he didnt spend the summer going to all of the camps and combines. Besides, he and his family had already set their sights on Vanderbilt and the world-class education the Commodores could offer.I just felt like I would develop more fully as a player and a person at Vanderbilt, Cunningham said. I fell in love with everything about Vanderbilt. It was more than just football.He concedes that being an economics major at Vanderbilt keeps him up late at nights studying but added, I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. Id talked to some guys who had majored in economics here before me and knew what was coming my way, but I wanted the challenge.What he doesnt want is engaging in any debate about where he ranks in the SEC or nationally with other linebackers. Hell leave that for everybody else.I dont really focus on stuff like that, Cunningham said. Im more focused on going out there and doing my best to help my team win.But, then, thats vintage Cunningham, the same guy who as a senior in high school got up to speak at the Mr. Football awards banquet in Montgomery, Alabama, and one of the first people he thanked was his home economics teacher for letting him borrow an iron to iron his shirt.Ive coached a lot of good ones, Mason said, but Zach is one of those guys who makes a lot of things right.And thats whether hes blowing up a play on fourth down or blowing it out on his guitar.Custom USA Soccer Jerseys . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. USA Soccer Jerseys 2019 . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. Stitched USA Soccer Jerseys . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. USA Soccer Pro Shop . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month.NEW YORK -- Islanders coach Jack Capuano thought Josh Bailey could give New York a spark, and Bailey delivered for the teams first win of the season.Bailey scored 54 seconds into overtime to give the Islanders a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in their home opener Sunday night.Capuano bumped Bailey to the top line with captain John Tavares and Andrew Ladd during regulation. In the 3-on-3 extra period, Bailey skated with Nick Leddy and Cal Clutterbuck.Capuano was pleased with his changes.(It was) something that we wanted to try going into tonights game and I thought they played well, he said. It was one of the better camps that (Baileys) had. ... If he plays with confidence as I told him, and his work ethic that he has, hes a skilled player and he has the ability to play on that line.Tavares and Brock Nelson also scored for the Islanders, who recovered after giving up a two-goal lead in the third period to get the win after opening with two losses.The first win is always big, Tavares said. Eases that pressure especially way those first two games went. ... A big win is always a good feeling.Jason Chimera, who was moved down to the second line with Nelson and Anders Lee, had an assist on Nelsons score for his first point since signing with New York in the offseason.He has the ability for me to put him where you want to play him because he balances out our lines with the speed that he possesses, Capuano said of Chimera. Hes got tremendous speed, can back defenders off and I thought that line was good tonight, too.Cam Fowler and Ryan Getzlaf scored in the third period for the Ducks and John Gibson finished with 27 saves. Anaheim fell to 0-2-1 on its season-opening five-game trip that includes four home openers before playing their own next Sunday.Ducks coach Randy Carlyle is still seeking his first win in his second stint in Anaheim. He spent six seasons with team from 2005-11.We had eight guys going to the World Cup through training camp, said Getzlaf, who along with teammate Corey Perry played with Tavares on Canadas championship team. We didnt get a chance to build together and build into that system that Randy wanted to play, and were learning. Were getting better as we go along here and its going to take some speedbumps. Were playing everybodys home openers.Fowler made it 2-1 at 8:31 of the third when his wrist shot deflected off Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickeys skate and over Halaks shoulder.dddddddddddd Then, with the Ducks using six skaters with the goalie pulled, Getzlaf tied it with 1 minute remaining when his one-timer went inside the right post on Halaks blocker side.Tavares extended the Islanders lead to 2-0 at 7:59 of the third as he knocked in a rebound of his own shot past Gibson for his first of the season.Fowler started the Ducks comeback just over 30 seconds later.After getting outplayed in the opening period, the Ducks were the aggressors in the second. Anaheim had three power plays and outshot New York 13-5.The Islanders nearly added to their lead with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the period when a shot by Lee hit the left goal post and rolled across the front of the goal line. The horn sounded and several New York players raised their hands but play continued.The Islanders Casey Cizikas hobbled to the bench with about 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the second after blocking a shot by Antoine Vermette, but returned 1:20 later. However, he left the ice about five minutes into the third and went to the dressing room.Capuano didnt have an immediate update on Cizikas status after the game.The Islanders outshot the Ducks 16-3 in the first period. Anaheim didnt get its first shot until Nick Sorensons long slap shot from outside the blue line with 5:39 remaining.Nelson got New York on the scoreboard at 7:47 of the first as he took a pass in front from Chimera, spun around with a defender on him and fired a wrist shot past Gibson.Game notesThe Ducks opening road swing including home-openers at Dallas last Thursday, at New Jersey on Tuesday and at Philadelphia on Thursday. ... Former Islanders greats Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier and Bobby Nystrom were announced on the ice for the ceremonial puck drop. ... The Islanders placed F Shane Prince on IR due to a lower body injury. ... Nelson has two goals and an assist and is the only Islanders player to have at least a point in each of the first three games. ... New York began stretches of five straight and 10 of 11 at home.UP NEXTDucks: Continue their trip at New Jersey on Tuesday night.Islanders: Host San Jose on Tuesday night.---Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP ' ' '