NAPA, Calif. -- Even as he and Giorgio Tavecchio continue to split reps in practice, Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski doesnt seem too concerned about his job status.While coach Jack Del Rio has preached open competition at every position, Janikowski had enough motivation already. The franchises career scoring leader turned 38 in March and is entering his 17th NFL season, all of them in Oakland.Having another kicker around to compete for the starting job was no big deal.I get motivated no matter what, Janikowski said Saturday. Thats my job. I have to come in, get in good shape and kick the ball. I worked my butt off in the offseason and I tried to get in better shape. Hopefully its going to pay off.Janikowski is the longest-tenured player on the Raiders roster and the lone remaining link to the Oaklands last playoff appearance in 2002.Since then he has watched as the team has made eight head coaching changes and revamped the roster repeatedly. The one constant has been Janikowski, the 17th overall pick in 2000.It went by fast, Ill tell you that, Janikowski said. It went by fast but (its another) year and I think its going to be a great year for us.Janikowski is entering the third year of a four-year deal he signed with the Raiders in 2013. Hes due to make nearly $4 million in 2016 after converting 21 of 26 field-goal attempts last season.His age and salary could make Janikowski expendable this season, which is why Tavecchios presence in practice is so intriguing.Tavecchio has bounced around the NFL since 2002. Hes spent time with San Francisco, Green Bay, Detroit and Oakland, but has never made it onto a regular-season roster but is pushing Janikowski in camp.Hes an NFL kicker, Raiders special teams coach Brad Seely said. Will he kick for us? That remains to be seen, but its a competition and were seeing whos the best.Sebastian has done this for a long time and has been really good. Obviously hes the front-runner going in. Its like a heavyweight championship fight. You have to knock him out if youre going to take his job.Janikowski is tied with Jason Hanson for the most field goals of 50 yards or longer in NFL history. Barring injury hes almost certain to break the record early in the upcoming season after converting four of five attempts from that range last season.The Raiders bypassed a handful of kicks within Janikowskis normal range last season, raising questions about his future with the team.Janikowski sidestepped questions about that and said the option to kick or not remains with coach Jack Del Rio.I dont make those decisions, Janikowski said. Jack is making the decisions. Thats why hes the head coach. If he wants to kick it, Im out there kicking it. If he wants to go for it, hes going for it.Game notes Left guard Kelechi Osemele and defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. were kicked out of practice for fighting. The two got into multiple scuffles before Del Rio sent them off the field. ... Fourth-round draft pick Connor Cook made the play of the day when he connected with undrafted rookie wide receiver K.J. Brent on a long touchdown pass.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale Custom Red Sox Shirts . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Bobby Doerr Jersey Large . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. http://www.customredsoxjersey.com/ . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Cheap Custom Red Sox Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Custom Red Sox T-shirts . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. PHOENIX -- Think about all the damage that the Minnesota Lynx can do with their big names. It almost seems like overkill, then, that one of their most productive players in Sundays 82-67 WNBA semifinal series-clinching victory over Phoenix is someone they picked up in a trade in February without expecting shed make this big an impact.Sometimes getting lucky is good, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. We didnt necessarily know what we were getting in Natasha Howard.But theres that saying that the harder you work, the luckier you get. The Lynx as an organization have worked very hard to build what has now stretched into six seasons of excellence, and theyll be going for their fourth WNBA title in that stretch.The play of Howard -- who had 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds Sunday -- is just one example of the culture the Lynx have built. Their incredibly strong core of key players -- Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus and Rebekkah Brunson -- have been together since the franchises first championship in 2011.The personnel moves the Lynx have made since then all have been with the goal of making an already great team even a little harder to beat. Look at the players added to the Lynx this year and last year, which include the likes of Sylvia Fowles, Renee Montgomery, Anna Cruz, Jia Perkins and Howard. Theyve all contributed specific things to the Lynx without taking anything away.UConn and USA Basketball coach Geno Auriemma always says that teams either get better or they get worse, but they dont just stay the same. The Lynx, who have become the WNBAs version of UConn in terms of sustained success, are an example of what hes talking about. Theyve continued to get better.Its all about being selfless, and thats the culture of our team, Reeve said. And we want to make sure we add those pieces that subscribe to that mentality. All the credit should go to the core players that we have, because other players want to play with them. Theyre tremendous superstars, yet theyre so humble and supportive.You watch them on the bench when theyre not in the game, and they have a lot of fun over there rooting for other players. Its genuine, and thats how they are all the time.The Lynx might be having a blast, but their opponents arent. Minnesota had the best regular-season record in franchise history (28-6) this year. The Lynx won all three of the semifinal games against Phoenix by double digits. Minnesota was the No. 1 seed and Phoenix No. 8, so the Lynx obviously were a big favorite. But remember, a few months ago, a lot of people predicted Phoenix would be the top contender for the title this year.Reeve complimented the Mercury on how much effort they put into these playoff games, but she also felt that the Lynx had enough high-quality depth that they could wear out Phoenix. And that happened. Led by Howard, the Lynx bench got 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.Indiana took Howard, out of Floridaa State, with the No.dddddddddddd 5 pick in the 2014 draft. She had a solid rookie season for the Fever, averaging 7.0 points and 3.1 rebounds. Her numbers dropped off a little last season, but the potential was still there.The Lynx were expecting to bring back post player Devereaux Peters, who was their third pick in the 2012 draft, this season. She had been a Minnesota reserve for four seasons. But Reeve said Peters wanted to play elsewhere. Hence, a deal with Indiana for Howard earlier this year.Howard has worked out well for Minnesota, as have the others, such as Fowles, who sat out until late July 2015 to force a trade to the Lynx from Chicago. She was the WNBA Finals MVP last year and recently was named the 2016 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.And guards such as Perkins and Montgomery are veterans who provide a different look, especially on defense, to help spell Augustus and Whalen.Im excited, happy and thankful that weve created an environment here that people want to be a part of, said Augustus, the longest-tenured Lynx player going back to being chosen No. 1 in the 2006 WNBA draft. Jia or Renee could have gone somewhere else and probably started. Thats what we pride ourselves on: We have a great team of athletes, but also a great team of people.For Moore, who has had another MVP-caliber season, the long-term chemistry the Lynx possess is a thing of wonderment.Its like being in unchartered waters, said Moore, who had 20 points and six rebounds Sunday. If you have that kind of feeling in high school or college, those are four years. With the pros ... maybe two or three years would be good. But this is year six for us. Its like, Wow. And theres no question that its people from the top down, starting with our owner, that make that happen.At different times on this team, people might have a tired day, and someones always there to pick them up. Were constantly looking out for each other.Before the Olympic break this season, the Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks were neck-and-neck as the top teams in the WNBA. Since the break, Minnesota clearly has been the best.The Sparks, who beat the Lynx at Minnesota in late June but lost two other times to them, still seem to have the best chance to derail the defending champions. But Los Angeles will have to get into the WNBA Finals first; they lost 70-66 in their Game 3 at Chicago on Sunday. The Sparks will try again to close out the series with the Sky on Tuesday (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET).Meanwhile the Lynx will take the opportunity to get some rest as they wait to see whom they will face in their fifth trip to the WNBA Finals in the past six years.This group has been a very special group. And the vibe ... I think its because they all have a piece in this, Reeve said. Its been very, very rewarding for me, watching them throughout the season. ' ' '