Milk Carton All-Star of the Week: Bill Gramatica

For a kicker to be honored in the Milk Carton All-Star of the Week, he would have had to been someone who had a storied run before his career petered out or someone whose name rings bells because of an epic failure.

Bill Gramatica was the latter.

Bill Gramatica emerged onto the scene as the Frank Stallone of kickers. His brother, Martin(pronounced Mar-teen), was a Pro Bowl kicker in Tampa Bay and Bill was Martin's younger brother who went from playing soccer in Argentina to kicking at USF to getting a crack at the pros with Arizona. Bill was actually respectable as the Cardinals' big boot, going 16-20 his rookie year in 2001 and 15-21 his following year. Overall, Billy Boy would nail 77% of his field goals during his illustrious four-year career in the NFL with Arizona and Miami.

That's not why he finds himself being honored this week, however. Bill Gramatica is best known to football fans for taking a page out of his brother's book and celebrating like a mad man after a clutch field goal against the Giants and jumping up and down like an acrobat. What's the big deal with a kicker hot dogging a little after a big kick, you ask?

THE IDIOT TORE HIS ACL DURING THE CELEBRATION!

After his kick went through the uprights, Gramatica sprung in the air like Mary Lou Renner and landed like Keri Strugg. Almost instantaneously after sticking his landing was Gramtica lying on the ground in the Meadowlands in sheer agony, clutching his leg. The joy from the Giants fans in attendance, already surly over Gramatica's go-ahead 3-pointer and now celebratory after karma struck down a miniscule player trying to live up his 15 minutes, is evident in the clip on YouTube. It almost sounds like a cacophony of laughter. Bill would miss the rest of that season in 2003 and the Cardinals would go in a different direction at kicker, inevitably settling on Pro Bowler Neil Rackers. Gramatica got another gig with the Dolphins in '04 but only managed to play in 1 game(in which he went 3-for-3 on his attempts, but managed to miss an extra point). After that, his career was a wrap and he was forever known in the hearts of many as the guy who blew out his knee getting a little extra with his field goal celebration.

Last year, though, Gramatica got let off the hook a little bit by Los Angeles Angels first baseman Kendrys Morales. After hitting a walk-off grand slam(the first grand slam of his career) against the Mariners in May of 2010, Morales got overwhelmed with joy rounding third and started jumping up and down as he was mobbed at home plate. The only problem? Morales fractured his leg in the celebration and hasn't played a game since.

The jury is still out on just when Morales will return but, if he doesn't, his spot on the Milk Carton All-Star of the Week is pretty much solidified. For now, we'll give Bill Gramatica his last moments in the spotlights and pay homage to a guy who would have been better served just keeping his feet on the ground and reaching for the stars.