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SAN DIEGO -- Hoisting the trophy and spraying champagne will be nice, for sure, for the crew that wins the Americas Cup World Series.Even sweeter will be the two bonus points that can help jumpstart that team when the fleet reconvenes in Bermuda next summer for the elimination rounds.The ninth and final stop of the ACWS will be sailed this weekend in Fukuoka, Japan. The winner of the overall series will earn two bonus points to carry into the qualifiers in June, while the second-place team will earn one bonus point.Thats a significant bonus to take forward, said British sailing star Sir Ben Ainslie, whose Land Rover BAR team holds the overall series lead with 437 points, 14 better than two-time defending Americas Cup champion Oracle Team USA.Emirates Team New Zealand, the hard-luck loser to Oracle in the 2013 Americas Cup, is three points back in third, with 420.SoftBank Team Japan is fourth with 399, followed by Artemis Racing of Sweden with 391 and Groupama Team France with 360.Ainslie, who was knighted a few months after winning his fourth straight Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games, said Land Rover BAR has been motivated by the bonus points and because its a new team fighting for the oldest trophy in international sports.Its been a huge amount of work, Ainslie said. Ive never worked this hard in my life. Its been massively rewarding for all of us for what weve achieved in a short amount of time. But were just starting. Our goal is to build a sustainable business in the UK with the core goal of winning the Americas Cup. We know it will be a huge battle next summer in Bermuda. If were not able to win the Cup next time, were going to keep going. We set this up to keep going until we get the job done.Ainslie would love to become the first Englishman to hoist the Americas Cup in victory. After losing the trophy to the schooner America in 1851, the Brits have never been able to win it back.Its huge, Ainslie said. For us, we have a very proud sporting heritage. Thats the one sporting trophy weve never won.The two bonus points will essentially represent two wins in the double round-robin qualifiers. In a break with tradition, the defender, Oracle, will sail against the challengers in that series.If a challenger wins the qualifiers and ultimately advances to the Americas Cup match, it will begin with a one-point advantage. Likewise, if Oracle, owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, wins the qualifiers, it will begin the first-to-seven match with a one-point lead.After the qualifiers, the top four challengers will advance to the playoffs consisting of semifinals and finals to determine which team faces Oracle in the Americas Cup match.Ainslie said that one-point bonus for the Americas Cup match would be a nice helping hand.It certainly is our approach that its definitely worth fighting for, he said.Land Rover BAR has won three of the eight ACWS stops, with one second and two thirds.Oracle has yet to win a stop on the series, although it has four second-place finishes and two thirds.However, Oracle was last in the previous ACWS stop in Toulon, France.Skipper Jimmy Spithill missed that regatta after having elbow surgery. Hes back for this regatta.Obviously this would be a pretty nice one to crack that, Spithill said. But the biggest thing in this series was consistency. Trust me, every single event we come to as a team, the goal is the same, to try to come away with a win. This one is no different. We want to come away with points. Were in not too bad of a position.Ainslie sailed with Oracle in the 2013 Americas Cup, helping the American-backed team rally to beat Team New Zealand in one of the biggest comebacks in sports history.I would say if they went through without winning an event that would be a disappointment in terms of their psyche, although it doesnt really hurt them, Ainslie said. Knowing that team, they expect to be performing better. Theyve been one of the more consistent teams but they havent been able to nail it on the date. Hopefully, from our point of view, this Japan event wont be when they start.---Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilsonJace Sternberger Jersey . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. 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Dave Robinson Womens Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Ryan Schraeder had no guarantees when the Atlanta Falcons signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2013.The 6-foot-7, 300-pound right tackle knew hed have to impress the coaching staff almost immediately.When youre undrafted, you come out and have to prove yourself even more to stand out from the guys that were drafted and on the team, he said. For them to see some talent in me and follow through with it, its cool.Schraeders perseverance paid off Monday when the Falcons signed him to a five-year contract extension. A person familiar with the deal says its for $33 million with $12.5 million guaranteed. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because financial terms of the deal were not publicly announced.He has started 35 straight games, but really began to blossom the last two years in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahans zone-blocking scheme.A big deal about the outside zone is being able to play in space with guys and keep them on the line of scrimmage and not give up penetration, Schraeder said. Youve got to be an athletic guy. Youve got to be big. Youve got to be able to move. Its not an easy offense, but when you have the skill set, you can be successful with it.Schraeders journey to the NFL was somewhat unexpected.He played only baseball and basketball at Maize High School in Wichita, Kansas and was just 5-foot-7 at the start of his senior year. He grew nine inches by the end of the year, but was still skinny. Scholarships werent offered in either sport and he spent the following summer delivering products for a local Wichita meat distributor.His growth spurt wasnt all that surprising. Men on Schraeders fathers side of the family were as tall as 6-6. His mother had a sister who was 6-0.After his body begann to fill out, Schraeder was noticed as a potential talent while playing pickup basketball at Kansas State.dddddddddddd An assistant football coach watched him play and said he should reconsider the sport.Schraeder returned home and spent one season at Butler Community College, then two at Valdosta State. He earned first-team all-America honors for three straight seasons, but still wasnt considered a top NFL prospect.When the Falcons signed him out of Valdosta State, Schraeders size wasnt that impressive. Lots of offensive tackles are 6-7, 300, but Schraeder stuck around mostly because of his athleticism and smarts.The development hes done over the last three years really set the stage for him to be here for extended time, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said. Congrats to him. Were so pumped hes going to be part of it for a long time.Schraeders new contract is the third big investment Atlanta has made on the offensive line in the last three years. Left tackle Jake Matthews was the NFLs No. 6 overall draft pick in 2014. The Falcons made Alex Mack the leagues highest paid center in March.Hopefully well all be here together for a long time and win a lot of games, Matthews said. Thats the plan.The Falcons (6-4) host Arizona (4-5-1) on Sunday.Game notesLCB Desmond Trufant (shoulder, pectoral) and RB Tevin Coleman (hamstring) did some work on the field in practice. Quinn wont officially update their injury status until Wednesday. Trufant missed the first game of his four-year career in the Nov. 13 loss at Philadelphia. Coleman has missed the last three games.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '