LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Growing up in rugby-crazed New Zealand, Paul Lasike dreamed one day of sharing a stadium with the countrys powerhouse national team, the All Blacks.In New Zealand, man, the All Blacks -- thats the team, Lasike said. You see those guys on buses, on the television news, at the train stations -- you see their pictures everywhere. They are the idols that everyone looks up to.Lasike, 26, finally gets to fulfill his lifelong quest, albeit in roundabout fashion, when the All Blacks travel to Chicago for a match versus Ireland on Saturday.A one-time star rugby player at Brigham Young University, Lasike made the switch to American football while in college, a decision that proved wise.Lasike (pronounced luh-SEE-kay), a native of Auckland, is currently a fullback on the Chicago Bears practice squad. He recently completed a stretch on Chicagos active roster, but the team had to make room for a defensive player coming back from injury prior to the Bears Oct. 20 game.As luck would have it, the All Blacks will be in Chicago the same week the Bears have their bye. So Lasike plans to be front and center for the match at Soldier Field, the Bears home stadium.I was so pumped to find out the All Blacks were playing in Chicago, man, Lasike said. My dad is coming out [from Brisbane, Australia] for the All Blacks game. He is so excited. I got box tickets, so he and I are going there. Its going to be a blast.I brought the family over for a game last year when I was on the Bears practice squad. It was their first football game. They had no idea what was going on, but they enjoyed the American culture, like the big lights and the fireworks. Its Americas game, you know. So they enjoyed that experience.But for the Lasikes -- Paul is the ninth of 10 children in a Kiwi-Tongan household -- playing in the NFL isnt the ultimate accomplishment.My family would be more impressed if I was an All Black, Lasike said with a grin.They grew up with rugby. When I made the NFL for the first couple of weeks, I Skyped my parents, and they were like, Oh, thats great. It wasnt like they went, Wow, thats crazy. I dont think they realize how big of a deal it is. If I was an All Black, they would be blown away.Still, Lasike was no slouch on the rugby pitch. BYU rugby coach David Smyth called Lasike the hardest-working player he has ever coached. Smyth first laid eyes on Lasike after he left New Zealand to enroll as an exchange student at Highland High School, a U.S. rugby powerhouse in Salt Lake City, for his senior year.Hes a phenomenal rugby player, said Smyth, who has guided BYU to five national championships. He has natural ability and a great skill set. On top of that, hes as hard a worker as weve ever had at BYU. When you add work ethic to the natural ability and skill set he already had, that equals success.Theres no doubt in my mind he could have played professional rugby somewhere. Hes a fairly humble kid, but hes going to work and work and work. ... Trust me when I tell you that Paul is one of the nicest and most humble kids off the field, but on the field he will rip your head off if you are standing between him and what he wants.Lasikes path toward the NFL started when Jay Omer, then the BYU football strength and conditioning coach, approached Lasike in the Cougars weight room.Omer felt Lasike possessed the tools to play football, but Lasike was skeptical.I was nervous to play football at first, Lasike said. Football is like an ego sport ... so I was kind of nervous to meet the football players. It was a little scary at first. The culture is a lot different in rugby. Its a lot less hype in rugby. Its weird, man. Its a totally different type of camaraderie.Lasike used the movie Remember the Titans to explain.When we watched it growing up in New Zealand, we were like, Wow, the coaches yell at their players to get them going. I never had a rugby coach yell at me. They would just explain things. If you fumble the ball in football, its a huge deal. If you fumble the ball in rugby, its not such a big deal. Getting after players and coaching style are the big differences. And, of course, the conditioning. Im a lot heavier now than when I played rugby.When Lasike returned from serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after his freshman year, Smyth and Omer brought him to meet Bronco Mendenhall, BYUs head coach at the time. Paul came out for the team and he was just impressive in his size and his speed, said Mendenhall, who is now head coach at Virginia. It appeared that since he was already used to carrying the football the running back position would be a good spot for him.He was a scout-team player to begin with when we were teaching him the rules. We were first, second or third in every defensive category that year, and our defensive players did not want to tackle him or hit him because he was wreaking havoc on them as he was so tough.Lasike found a role on BYUs offense in a matter of weeks.Heres the thing about Paul, Mendenhall said. Hes an amazing piano player as well. We used to have devotionals before the games, home or away, and he would play the piano beautifully by ear. He is so kind, and with that English accent, he is the absolute gentleman. But when he is on the field, he is just ferocious.Lasike ended his BYU career with 843 rushing yards in 38 games (19 starts). He went undrafted in 2015 but signed with the Arizona Cardinals before joining the Bears, where he patiently awaits his next opportunity.I never try to take how far Ive come for granted, Lasike said. I know it can be cut off at any time. I always approach every day in the NFL like it is my last, because I know how huge it is. Not many people get to be in this situation. I have friends and stuff who I grew up playing rugby with, and theyre like, Bro, I cant believe you are there and Im here. So it kind of makes me realize this is a cool deal. Wholesale Fashion Shoes . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Cheap Fashion Shoes Wholesale . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. http://www.wholesaleshoesfashion.com/ . PAUL, Minn. Wholesale Shoes China Free Shipping . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Cheap China Shoes Wholesale . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive.MONACO -- Even though he emulated his father in winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg thinks he is some way from being able to complete another father-and-son double by clinching the world title as well. Rosberg kept his cool amid the chaos to win the crash-marred race on Sunday to give Mercedes its first victory of the season, as well as matching Keke Rosbergs Monaco victory from 1983 -- the year after Rosberg Sr. won his only F1 title. But Rosberg is only sixth in the overall standings and is still 60 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel. "I dont want to talk about (the title) at all," Rosberg said. "We should not get over-excited for the next couple of races. We still have a bit of an issue with our race pace, and also with the development race, everyone is pushing forward. So I am definitely not thinking of the championship, I am today just thinking about Monaco." He played down the emotional significance of matching his fathers achievement. "Its special, but honestly thats not what I was thinking of when I was crossing the finish line," Rosberg said. Still, he did enjoy the occasion of winning only his second career GP in the place where he spent much of his childhood growing up. "This is the most special race for me to win, it was incredible, unreal. That is what is special about the sport," Rosberg said. "When I was quite young watching this race, my first memory was Ayrton Senna with the yellow helmet in the red and white (car)." Rosberg began from pole position for the third straight GP, but he had to re-start three times after the race was held up by a safety car, a red flag and the safety car again. The German finished ahead of Vettel and his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth after starting from second. The red flag came out with about 30 laps to go when Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was nudged into the wall by Marussias Max Chilton. Earlier, Ferraris Felipe Massa crashed and the safety car came out a second time when Frenchman Romain Grosjean smashed his Lotus into Daniel Ricciardos Toro Rosso. Grosjean was handed a 10-grid penalty point for the Canadian GP in two weeks time. After winning, the 27-year-old Rosberg danced on the bonnet of his car before jumping off to hug team members. Rosberg won his other race from polle at the China GP last year and his previous best result this season was fourth in Malaysia.dddddddddddd. They were useful points for three-time defending champion Vettel, who extended his lead at the top of the standings to 21 points over Kimi Raikkonen and 29 over Fernando Alonso, who failed to repeat his Spanish GP win from two weeks ago and could only manage seventh place. Raikkonen finished way down in 10th after being barged by McLarens Sergio Perez late on. "Im very happy and pleased with the result," said Vettel, who started from third on the grid. Crashes dominated as Monaco confirmed it is one of the most difficult tracks in F1. Chilton lost control and moved across into Maldonado on his side, sending the Venezuelan off the wall and into the crash barriers. Chiltons teammate Jules Bianchi was dragged into the crash but no driver was hurt. Massa, meanwhile, ploughed into the wall and slid across the track in a carbon-copy of his crash in Saturdays third practice. He was released from hospital after check-ups. It was eventful off the track, too. A little more than one hour before the race, Red Bull launched an official protest against Mercedes. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner demanded clarity as to why Mercedes was allowed to conduct in-season tire testing following the Spanish GP. Rosberg refused to answer questions about the issue in the post-race press conference. Early on, Frenchman Charles Pics race ended when he had to bank his Caterham onto the side of the track and quickly clamber out as flames started shooting up. He was unhurt. Hamilton had just pitted for new tires on Lap 30 when Massa crashed. As a result, when the safety car first came out, it was cruel on Hamilton, who then dropped behind Vettel and Webber -- last years winner -- and into fourth place when the race re-started. "I dont put it down to bad luck," said Hamilton, who is fourth overall and 45 points behind Vettel. "I wasnt good enough." Mini-battles raged everywhere before the red flag came out on Lap 46, and the race was halted for the third time on lap 62 after Grosjean lost control coming out of the tunnel. There was still time for another incident when Perez tried for the second time to get past Raikkonen on the inside and then failed to finish. They both blamed each other. ' ' '
