Falcons

THE ATLANTA Falcons replaced Michael Turner with another proven, productive running back. Steven Jackson, the top running back in free agency, agreed to a 3-year, $12 million deal with the Falcons on Thursday. Also getting new deals were backup quarterback Matt Cassel in Minnesota and cornerback Keenan Lewis in New Orleans. The New York Giants signed defensive backs Ryan Mundy and Aaron Ross. And the Houston Texans were rolling out the red carpet to make their pitch to safety Ed Reed.

Tony Gonzalez, who has more catches than any tight end in NFL history, announced Tuesday he is returning to the Falcons for the 2013 season. Gonzalez, the Falcons' leading receiver last season, said during the season he was 95 percent sure he would retire after the 2012 season. His productive season made it difficult to stick with the retirement plan. While Gonzalez is staying, Titans left guard Steve Hutchinson has decided to retire after 12 NFL seasons, the last cut short by a knee injury that limited him to 12 games.

The Falcons and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed have reached financial terms on a proposed new $1 billion stadium downtown to replace the 20-year-old Georgia Dome, officials said Thursday. Taxpayers will be on the hook for $200 million of the project's cost. Those funds will be raised by the city's hotel-motel tax, Reed said. The mayor made the announcement alongside Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal . The stadium will help the city compete for major events, including the Super Bowl, Blank said.

ATLANTA FALCONS quarterback Matt Ryan sprained his left shoulder in the closing minutes of the NFC Championship Game and won't be able to play in Sunday's Pro Bowl. Coach Mike Smith said Ryan will need 3 to 4 weeks to recover from the injury, which was described as a sprained AC joint to the non-throwing shoulder. No surgery is required. Ryan was hurt just after the 2-minute warning. On a 5-yard pass that Jason Snelling took down to the San Francisco 10, linebacker Ahmad Brooks got a shot on the Atlanta quarterback.

ATLANTA — One Philadelphia-area quarterback is going to the Super Bowl, but another one is going to have to wait at least one more year. While Audubon, N.J., native Joe Flacco punched his ticket to New Orleans Sunday with the Ravens' 28-13 win over the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, Matt Ryan came up just short as the Falcons lost a 28-24 heartbreaker to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. Ryan completed 30 of 42 passes for 396 yards and three touchdowns in the defeat.

ATLANTA - The thing you notice about the members of the 49ers' defense - besides the fact that they're very, very good - is that they play the game very businesslike. You'll seldom see them celebrating a big play with the uh, for lack of a better word, gusto, of many of their NFL colleagues. They're not big on sack dances or cock-a-doodle-doo struts or doing that standing-over-ballcarrier thing that Eagles safety Kurt Coleman is so fond of. You can thank Jim Harbaugh for that.

ATLANTA - Time wasn't the problem for Matt Ryan on Sunday. He had plenty of that. After shredding the San Francisco 49ers for 24 points in a brilliant first half, Ryan had 30 minutes to finish the job and punch his ticket to the Super Bowl. After his two terrible turnovers helped the Niners get back into the game, Ryan had the ball and a chance to reclaim the momentum. Even after San Francisco scored to take a 28-24 lead, Ryan had 8 minutes, 23 seconds to burnish his legacy with a game-winning drive.

San Francisco cornerback Carlos Rogers had one word to describe what his homecoming in Atlanta will be like when the 49ers face the Falcons in Sunday's NFC championship. "Expensive," he said. Rogers, born in Augusta, and an offseason resident of Atlanta, grew up doing the "Dirty Birds" dance when the Falcons reached the Super Bowl during the 1998 season. He has paid for more than 30 tickets for friends and family for the playoff game in the Georgia Dome. "I was a fan of the Falcons.

When it comes to playing hoops at Pennsbury, Shawn Pepper is in an impossible-to-top-that situation. His brother, Dalton, netted 2,207 points at the school from 2006 to 2009. "It's tough, because you always hear about the stuff he did," the 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior said. "It bothered me when I was younger, but not now. " Shawn Pepper will no doubt be relaying to Dalton, now at Temple, what he did in Friday night's Suburban One League National Conference matchup against Bensalem.

ATLANTA - It's a question many people are asked around their birthdays. "How does it feel to be another year older?" The answer is almost invariably simple. "About the same. " Well, it turns out it's the same for NFL quarterbacks who win playoff games. Even after mounting criticism, years of raised eyebrows suggesting Matt Ryan may not be equipped to win in the postseason, and coming up short in his first three tries, the Falcons' quarterback said there is very little difference now that he has shed the persona of being a perennial playoff loser.