losing him last year was a kick in the stomach, receive

MADRID -- Real Madrid says it has extended the contract of Spain forward Lucas Vazquez until June 2021.The 25-year-old Vazquez hasnt started often but has become a key figure in Zinedine Zidanes team when coming off the bench.He returned to Madrid last season after playing with Espanyol on loan.The speedy forward was part of Spains squad at the 2016 European Championship and started in the quarterfinal loss to Italy.Madrid recently announced it has also extended the contracts of midfielders Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. Stitched Celtics Jerseys . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Custom Boston Celtics Jerseys . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. https://www.cheapceltics.com/ . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Boston Celtics Shirts . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Boston Celtics Pro Shop .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. TEMPE, Ariz. -- Nearly nine months after he tore an ACL and underwent knee surgery for the second time in three seasons, Tyrann Mathieu is back and ready to go in the Arizona Cardinals season opener against New England on Sunday night.Coach Bruce Arians said Mathieu will play every down. Defensive coordinator James Boettcher said his do-everything All-Pro defensive back is where he left off last year.Mathieu is a little more cautious.Asked on Thursday if he would be at 100 percent for the game, he just smiled and said, Well see.He will wear a brace, but a much smaller one than he did after his first surgery.If Im out there Im going to make some plays, he said. I just want to be prepared mentally. Physically Im all right. Well see how it goes.All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson indicated the Cardinals would ease Mathieu back into the game.Im ecstatic to have my partner in crime back on the field with me, Peterson said. Im looking for nothing but big plays from him. Were going to take it slow with him the first couple of weeks to see how hes acclimated to things.Mathieu, the Honey Badger to his legion of fans, didnt play in any preseason games but Arians and Boettcher said the 5-foot-9 dynamo was making big plays in practice.I think he had his hand on three balls today in practice, Boettcher said. Hes himself. Were excited hes back. Hes running around in practice, playing fast, doing a great job of communicating.The Caardinals defense was never quite the same after Mathieu went down Dec.dddddddddddd 20 in Philadelphia. His passion for the game and energy rubs off on the whole team, even the offense.Just from a morale standpoint, losing him last year was a kick in the stomach, receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. You see a guy whos battled back from injury the year before and to see it happen again, it was demoralizing for all of us. You feel sorry for him but you also feel sorry for your team because he was such a big part of it.Mathieu said he is anxious to play in front of the whole world. Im just ready to show people Im at work on Sunday.Despite his injuries to each knee, the Cardinals signed him to a five-year, $62.5 million contract with $21.25 million guaranteed in a show of just how much the charismatic cornerback-safety means to the franchise.Now he wants to resume the role that made him such an important part of the team.Its Sunday night football, he said. The intensity will be high. I just really want to raise the energy of everybody around me and hopefully my energy stays high for four quarters.Fitzgerald expects it will be.Hes going to be out there playing with his hair on fire, Fitzgerald said, like he always does.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '