By The Associated Press

The sports talk radio station in Boston extended its programming an extra hour to stay with the story. The newspapers put it on the front page. And anywhere New England Patriots fans gathered, the team’s latest free agent loss was mourned.

All this over a kicker.

But not just any kicker.

Adam Vinatieri, the fresh-faced star of two Super Bowls and a potential Hall of Famer, signed with the rival Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday. He’s not the first to leave the budding dynasty, but he is the one most associated with the team’s recent run of three NFL titles in four years. “I left a message with Adam just to thank him for all of his contributions during the past 10 years with the New England Patriots,” owner Robert Kraft was quoted as saying on the team’s Web site.

“I was proud of the way he represented the franchise, both on and off the field. He is a true champion. Adam will always be remembered for his many winning kicks and overall accomplishments as a Patriot. He holds a special place in the hearts of all of us who are Patriots fans,” Kraft’s statement said. The Patriots had chosen not to make Vinatieri their franchise player – at a cost of $3 million – and never got into the bidding for the man whose field goals were the difference in all three of their NFL titles. Indianapolis reportedly gave him a $3.5 million signing bonus and an average of $2.5 million over the next three years.

Patriots officials were not available for comment, team spokesman Stacey James said, because they were waiting for the Colts to introduce Vinatieri before responding. The Patriots have already brought former Minnesota kicker Paul Edinger in for a visit, and they are expected to take a look at Mike Vanderjagt – the guy the Colts jettisoned to go after Vinatieri.

“We felt that Mike’s effectiveness here had run its course. We felt the leg strength was diminishing and it was time for a change,” Colts president Bill Polian said on WEEI-AM in Boston. “It was obvious that (Vinatieri) was the best alternative for us.”

But the Colts didn’t go right after Vinatieri, who visited the Green Bay Packers this week but left without a deal.

“I think there was the feeling that he was going back to the Patriots,” Polian said.

But the Patriots’ braintrust stuck with its strategy of finding value players and avoiding the big free agent splash – an approach that has cost them some big names.

On the same day Vinatieri left, the New York Jets signed receiver/kick returner Tim Dwight away from the Patriots. Before him, receiver David Givens signed a five-year, $24 million deal with the Tennessee Titans; also last week, linebacker Willie McGinest left the team that drafted him in the first round of 1994 and signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Browns.

That reunited him with former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who left last offseason along with offensive counterpart Charlie Weis. Other defections last winter included Ty Law, Joe Andruzzi and David Patten; since winning their first Super Bowl in 2002 the Patriots have also lost Lawyer Milloy, Ted Washington, Damien Woody and Drew Bledsoe.

It hasn’t really slowed them down yet: Patriots coach Bill Belichick has three NFL titles that say he knows what he’s doing. But Vinatieri was an important part of getting them.

Although he isn’t the most accurate kicker around – that honor belongs to Vanderjagt – Vinatieri earned his reputation as the most clutch. He kicked the game-winner with no time left to beat the St. Louis Rams in the 2002 Super Bowl, then kicked another game-winner in the final seconds of the 04 NFL title game.

In 2005, when the Patriots won their third championship in four years, Vinatieri kicked a 22-yard field goal with a comfy 8:40 left in the game. That capped off Vinatieri’s best season, when he made 94 percent of his field-goal attempts and all of his extra points in 2004 to lead the NFL with 141 points and make his second Pro Bowl.

Last season, he went 20-for-25 on field goals and missed one of 41 extra point attempts.

Polian said he didn’t take any special pleasure in signing a star away from the Patriots, who knocked Indianapolis out of the playoffs in both 2004 and 05.

“We just look at what the player can do for us,” the Colts boss said. “We’ve got a hard enough time figuring that out.”

Now he’ll have the added advantage of playing half his games indoors.

“Kickers may not be worth it, but some players are,” said Dave Cousineau, a New England fan at the Boston Celtics’ game on Wednesday night. “I don’t look at him as just a kicker. He’s a lock … a guarantee in the red zone.”

AP-ES-03-22-06 2052EST