EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Injuries to All-Pro long snapper Andrew DePaola and rookie kicker Will Reichard had the Minnesota Vikings assessing their options Monday for temporary replacements in an midseason disruption to what has been one of the NFL' s most productive kicking operations.
DePaola will have minor surgery on his hand and need to be placed on short-term injured reserve, coach Kevin O'Connell said. Reichard has a quadriceps injury that was being evaluated by the medical staff, with his availability for the next game still being determined and a possibility he'll need a sub too.
DePaola, who was a Pro Bowl selection in each of the past two years and also an AP All-Pro pick for 2023, hasn't missed a game since joining the Vikings (6-2) midway through the 2020 season. The 37-year-old must miss a minimum of four games on IR.
Reichard, the team's sixth-round draft pick out of Alabama, was 14 for 14 on field goals and 20 for 20 on extra points over the first seven games. He pulled a 53-yard try wide right and hit a 31-yard attempt off the right upright in the second quarter Sunday against Indianapolis, misses the Vikings believed were affected by the injury he aggravated at some point in the first half.
“You’d love to have him continue on the fabulous trajectory he’s been on really since he arrived here,” O’Connell said. “These things come up. We’ll go through the process here of making sure we put together the best plan to make sure we have him full and doing what he’s doing all season long really up until last night.”
Reichard's field goal rate (94.9%) trails only Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell and Washington's Austin Seibert in the league among kickers with at least 15 attempts. Reichard is one of four kickers with at least 20 attempts to make every extra point this season.
With DePaola's help, Vikings punter Ryan Wright also ranks second in the NFL with 53.6% of his attempts landing inside the 20-yard line.
O'Connell also announced that left tackle Christian Darrisaw was scheduled for surgery Monday to repair the ACL in his left knee after suffering the season-ending injury in the game on Oct. 24.
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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Minnesota Vikings place-kicker Will Reichard (16) boots a field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
FILE -Minnesota Vikings long snapper Andrew DePaola stands on the field before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Minneapolis. Injuries to All-Pro long snapper Andrew DePaola and rookie kicker Will Reichard had the Minnesota Vikings assessing their options Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 for temporary replacements in an midseason disruption to what has been one of the NFL's most productive kicking operations. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.
Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.
“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.
President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.
Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.
In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.
Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.
He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.
Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”
Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.
Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”
Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”
“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.
In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.
Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.
“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”
Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.
FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
