When gamblers invested in the New England Patriots the past several years they were confident in the fact that should the game come down to a last second field goal, they stood a great chance of cashing a ticket. You see, the Brady Bunch had Adam Vinatieri on the sidelines and that was like money in the bank, but not any more!

Coach Bill Bellichick announced this week that they have axed incumbent kicker Martin Gramatica and handed the reins to rookie Stephen Gostkowski. In this present era of the NFL no one can blame Vinatieri for fleeing to Indy for the big bucks and a chance to kick indoors.

New England will begin the season without their best receiver Deion Branch who is holding out for a sweeter deal. They've also lost all pro linebacker and defensive stalwart Willie McGinest, so for those of you who appreciate , you can expect a few nail-biting finishes this year. In four years at Memphis, Gostkowski made 76.1 percent of his field goal tries. His best season came as a senior when he went 22-for-25, an 88 percent accuracy rate. He missed just one of his 128 extra-point attempts in his last three years.

Gramatica, released Wednesday, signed as a free agent last April 6 after sitting out all last season. He had four outstanding seasons with Tampa Bay before struggling in 2003 and 2004. He made both of his field goal tries in the first exhibition game, but didn't play in the second.

Cleveland Try's To Solve Center Woes!

While most Cleveland Browns fans are wondering how former Akron QB Charlie Frye will fare in his second season and whether Kellen Winslow will become an impact player, it will hardly matter if their problems at center continue to exist.

Cleveland's trouble at center started when LeCharles Bentley, the team's biggest free agent signing in the offseason, suffered a season-ending knee injury on the second day of training camp. Backup center Bob Hallen then abruptly retired with a back problem and Alonzo Ephraim was suspended for the first four regular-season games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

Ross Tucker, acquired in a trade from the New England Patriots, is now the Browns starter. On Thursday they acquired Lennie Freidman from Chicago to shore up the position. Friedman has played in 65 games, including 32 starts at guard and center, in seven seasons with Denver, Washington and Chicago and he played in 10 games with Washington last season before being waived in November. It's going to be another outstanding season in . This is a good time to start checking out the odds at your favorite .

Bob Acton