| | Thursday, November 2, 2017 | | | The N.F.L.’s M.V.P. Might Be ... a Punter? | | | | I was interviewing Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers in the team’s locker room three weeks ago when he asked me a question. | | “You flew all the way across the country to write about a punter?” he said. | | Yes, I told him. | | “Awesome,” Brockers said. | | I went to California not to write about a punter. I went to write about the Rams’ punter, Johnny Hekker, who can kick the ball wherever he wants whenever he wants – and does it better than anyone else in the N.F.L. | | As I learned across the parts of four days I spent with Hekker last month, the simple act of dropping a football and kicking it is not so simple. One afternoon, he explained the proper technique. Then he stood up and, using an empty water bottle as the football, showed me. | | He stands with his knees bent but relaxed and his feet at hip width, maybe a tad wider, with his left a bit in front. As he awaits the snap, he swings his arms to stay fluid and loose. He likes the ball by his right hip, and it takes about 0.7 seconds for the ball to get there. | | If Hekker wants to prevent rushers from blocking his punt, this next phase must take no more than 1.3 seconds. Hekker wants to grab the ball with the nose down, and as soon as he does, he will orient it to achieve the desired grip. To gain momentum as the ball hurtles toward him, Hekker takes … you know what? It’ll probably be way easier for you to understand Hekker’s mechanics by clicking here and watching him in action. | | I relayed some of the finer points of Hekker’s technique to Brockers. He didn’t know about all that, but he did say, “I honestly think I’m watching a future Hall of Famer.” | | And that is why I flew across the country to write about a punter. You can read my story here. | | Ben Shpigel | | Sports Reporter | | | | Here’s the Best of Our World Series Coverage |  Eugene Garcia/European Pressphoto Agency | Astros 5, Dodgers 1 | Houston wins series, 4-3 By BILLY WITZ Facing a daunting Game 7 in Los Angeles, Houston coolly put together an early lead and held off the Dodgers to win the first title in franchise history. |  Scott Dalton for The New York Times | By MANNY FERNANDEZ AND PAUL DEBENEDETTO Few cheered the Astros’s first World Series title louder than those hit hard by the floodwaters. |  Ezra Shaw/Getty Images | By JAMES WAGNER The dynamic outfielder and leadoff hitter from New Britain, Conn., was drafted during a 100-loss season before going on to win the Series and one of baseball’s top awards. |  Jae C. Hong/Associated Press | By VICTOR MATHER Correa, the Astros’ shortstop, produced a ring during the team’s on-field celebration and got down on one knee. His girlfriend, Daniella Rodriguez, said yes. |  Matt Slocum/Associated Press | By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN AND DAVID WALDSTEIN In a winner-take-all game, the Astros jumped ahead of the Dodgers early and never looked back. |  Christian Petersen/Getty Images | On Baseball By TYLER KEPNER Houston won the World Series by using several starting pitchers to finish out big games. The final effort was turned in by the unsung Morton, who got the Astros to the finish line in Game 7. | |  Alex Brandon/Associated Press | By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN Dallas is likely to be without running back Ezekiel Elliott, which leaves things up to quarterback Dak Prescott and a superb offensive line. |  Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images | By JUSTIN SABLICH Drew Brees is a good option at quarterback, while the Texans’ Lamar Miller should have success on the ground. | | | What to Watch This Weekend | - FOOTBALL Our favorite game this week is Chiefs at Cowboys (Sunday at 4:25 p.m., Eastern time; CBS). With Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension finally in place, we’ll see how good the Dallas Cowboys are without their workhorse. Our Week 9 picks. SCHEDULE & SCOREBOARD
- BASKETBALL The Celtics, with their shiny new star Kyrie Irving, visit the Thunder, with their shiny new star Carmelo Anthony (Friday, 9:30 p.m., ESPN). SCHEDULE & SCOREBOARD
- HORSE RACING The casual fan likes the Triple Crown, but hard-core racing aficionados love the Breeders’ Cup, which attracts the best horses from all over the world for 13 races. The main event, the Classic, features the event’s defending champion, Arrogate, and the horse who upset him last time out, Collected. Then there’s Gun Runner, who comes off three consecutive crushing victories. (Friday at 5 p.m., NBCSN; Saturday at 1:30 p.m., NBCSN; 8 p.m., NBC)
- TENNIS Rafael Nadal has already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking. Can he also secure his seventh title of the year at the Paris Masters, an event he has never won? (Friday to Sunday, 9 a.m., Tennis Channel) SCOREBOARDS
- SOCCER After easing their way through Champions League matches in midweek, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will pull out all the stops for their Bundesliga showdown on Saturday (1:30 p.m., Fox Sports 2). You may want to carbo load afterward, since Sunday figures to be a long day: Manchester City-Arsenal at 9:15 a.m. followed by Chelsea-Manchester United (11:30 a.m.) on NBCSN, then an M.L.S. playoff triple-header with Toronto-Red Bulls (3 p.m., ESPN), New York City F.C.-Columbus (5 p.m., ESPN) and Portland-Houston (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1).
- HOCKEY The Devils (9-2) have been surprisingly good in the first month of the season. The Oilers (3-6-1) have been surprisingly bad. The teams meet on Friday night in Edmonton (9 p.m., NHL Network, MSG+). Washington is at Boston on Saturday (7 p.m., NHL Network) and Montreal is at Chicago on Sunday (NHL Network, 7 p.m.). SCHEDULE & SCOREBOARD
- AUTO RACING Tempers flared at last Sunday's Nascar race when Denny Hamlin sent Chase Elliott into the wall when it seemed as if Elliott was on his way to his first Cup Series win and a spot in the next round of the playoffs. Hamlin and Elliott take their beef to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend with only two races left to qualify for the final four (Sunday, 2 p.m., NBCSN). SCHEDULE
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