SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Ryan Kalil isnt waiting until he retires from the NFL to get a jumpstart on his next career.The Panthers five-time Pro Bowl center has teamed with Blake Griffin of the NBAs Clippers to form the Los Angeles-based production company Mortal Media, and will be co-producing a sequel to the 1991 Disney film The Rocketeer soon.If thats not enough, Kalil also co-authored a book with two former teammates this offseason entitled The Rookie Handbook: How to Survive the First Season in the NFL that will hit the shelves next month.I try to be somewhat cultured, joked Kalil, widely known in the Carolina locker room for his wit and sense of humor.We play football for a living, but we try not to let it define who we are, Kalil added. Everybody has their passion they pursue in the offseason, which I think is fine as long, as Cam (Newton) says, you dont forget your day job.Hes become pretty good at his day job.Entering his 10th NFL season, the 31-year-old Kalil is one of the games best centers, earning All-Pro honors in 2013 and 2015. He was rewarded with a two-year, $16.7 million contract extension this offseason through the 2018 season. Kalil said the contract could be his last.Im not a 15-year NFL guy, he said.Perhaps thats because Kalil has plenty of options waiting for him beyond the gridiron.He grew up in Anaheim, California, and made Claymation films as a child. He played collegiately at the University of Southern California, where he established contacts within the movie industry.Before being drafted in 2007, Kalil co-starred in a football training spoof for the NFL Network that featured actor Will Farrell as the Trojans strength and conditioning coach.And when rapper Snoop Dogg greeted Kalil with a hug at the Super Bowl in February, few teammates were surprised.Hes a Cali guy, Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert said. He knows everyone.Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said he went to visit Kalil and his family this offseason in California and said he was impressed with his teammates company.This isnt something hes doing in his basement, Olsen said. Its a major operation and they are dealing with the major players in the Hollywood world. Its a passion of his and he gets that whole (entertainment) world.Kalil said film is something hes been passionate about for a long time.Hes done something production-related for the past several offseasons before deciding to open a company with Griffin, a friend who shares similar interests.We started going around town and finding projects we were excited about, Kalil said. The Rocketeer was one that weve been huge fans of, and we knew Disney was trying to figure out what to do with it. So we found some talented writers, and they figured out a really exciting take to the story. We took it to Disney and they liked it.Production is still in the early stages and no release date has been set.When he wasnt coming up with movie ideas, Kalil sat down this offseason with former Panthers offensive line teammates Jordan Gross and Geoff Hangartner to write a book.Together, theyve seen a variety of rookies come and go over the years and decided to put together an admittedly sarcastic handbook on things to do -- and not to do -- when entering the league.Kalil joked that while the book may not appeal to a big audience -- Not all the guys like to read on my team or in my profession in general, Kalil joked -- he said it was a fun project.Given our sense of humor, theres a sarcastic tone, but theres useful information in there, Kalil said.He said the book started out as a joke, a 10-page rookie handbook specifically for an offensive line meeting room. They later decided to make it a book.It was fun to sit down and reminisce with the guys, Kalil said.Panthers coach Ron Rivera called Kalil a special player whos going to be successful in anything he does in life.Hes got a tremendous imagination and hes very artistic, Rivera said. Guys like that are special, and its great to have a guy like that because hes a great example for the rest of the players.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Onitsuka Tiger Australia Sale .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Onitsuka Tiger Australia Sale . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. http://www.onitsukatigersaleaustralia.com/asics-onitsuka-tiger-australia/onitsuka-tiger-mexico-66.html . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Onitsuka Tiger Mid Runner .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Asics Kayano Sale Australia . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. WASHINGTON -- John Isner hit 18 aces and never faced a break point during a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus on Friday that put the American in the Citi Open semifinals. Isner won for the 10th time in his past 11 matches as he gets ready for the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 26 on hard courts similar to those used in Washington. "Im in a good rhythm and Im serving well," said Isner, who has 49 aces and was broken only once in three matches this week. "Id like to think I can hold my serve no matter whats under my feet, but I do think this (surface) helps my serve." The 20th-ranked and eighth-seeded Isner, who won the hard-court title at Atlanta last week, will face unseeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia for a berth in Sundays final. The 61st-ranked Tursunov overcame 13 double-faults with the help of 15 aces to beat a cramping Marinko Matosevic of Australia 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4). Saturdays match against Isner -- who won the longest match in tennis history, 70-68 in the fifth set at Wimbledon in 2010 -- will be only Tursunovs second semifinal of the season, and his first at Washington since 2006. The semifinal on the other side of the mens draw pits top-seeded and two-time champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina against No. 3-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany.dddddddddddd Del Potro, winner of the 2009 U.S. Open, grabbed 15 consecutive points during one stretch and defeated No. 7-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (0), 6-3. Like Isner, del Potro did not face a break point in the quarterfinals. The 35-year-old Haas defeated No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3). Defending womens champion Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia returned to the semifinals by beating top-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 7-6 (0), 3-6, 6-3, and now will play No. 3 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia. No. 4 Alize Cornet of France meets 64th-ranked Andrea Petkovic of Germany in the other semifinal. Makarova played only four points -- winning all of them -- and moved on when her quarterfinal opponent, Monica Niculescu of Romania, stopped after one game because of a left wrist injury. Cornet eliminated No. 5 Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (5), 6-2, and Petkovic advanced with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over 79th-ranked Paula Ormaechea of Argentina. Petkovic is a former top-10 player whose career was sidetracked by injuries, including a stress fracture in her lower back and ankle and knee operations. "Im just so grateful for the second chance," Petkovic said. "I really think of it as a second chance." ' ' '