nder and willing passer to help make a playoff push could jump at t

NEW ORLEANS -- Staggered by a shoulder pad to the head and ripped down by a forearm hit across the neck, Drew Brees was crumpled on the turf with blood on his chin. Pau Gasol Jersey . Yet the vicious sack by San Franciscos Ahmad Brooks also drew a flag that cancelled out Brees lost fumble with 3:12 left and gave the Saints prolific quarterback one chance too many. Brees guided New Orleans to two late Garrett Hartley field goals -- the second as time expired -- and the Saints upended the 49ers 23-20 on Sunday. "All I remember is just getting clothes-lined in the chin and as Im on the ground, Im saying, Thats got to be a flag," Brees said. "One of my teammates kind of picked me up and said, Are you all right? and he said, Dont worry, theres a flag. "I said, All right, good. Just took a moment, and youve got to get ready to go." The Superdome crowd grumbled each time the Saints settled for high-pressure field goals in the fourth quarter, apparently nervous that Hartley, whod missed four of six attempts in the previous three games, would slip up again. Instead, Hartley made all three of his field goal attempts in the final quarter to wipe out New Orleans 20-14 deficit. His 42-yarder with 2:06 left tied it. His game-winner was from 31 yards. He also hit from 21 yards earlier. "This team and this coaching staff and this organization never took their foot off the gas with me and here we are sitting at 8-2 and getting ready for Atlanta," Hartley said. The Saints trailed 20-17 when Brooks levelled Brees. The Niners protested the resulting flag vigorously. "It was very frustrating. The game could have gone a totally different direction than what it went," Brooks said. "I was just mad because that was a big play in the game. We lost, and thats probably the reason why." The Saints (8-2) improved to 6-0 at home despite three turnovers and a failed fourth down conversion. "Youre going to have games like this," Brees said. "You still find way to win against a playoff-calibre opponent with a lot at stake at this point in the season. That says a lot." The victory guaranteed the Saints would remain at least a game ahead of Carolina -- which plays Monday night -- for first place in the NFC South. It also kept New Orleans one game in the loss column behind top NFC seed Seattle (10-1). Marques Colston finished with five catches for 80 yards to become the Saints all-time leader in yards receiving with 7,923, passing Eric Martins two-decade-old mark of 7,854. "Its definitely an awesome accomplishment," said Colston, a 2006 seventh-round draft choice out of Hofstra. "It had a lot to do with some of the guys in this locker room and this coaching staff, but were in the midst of something a lot more meaningful right now." Colin Kaepernick passed for two scores, but finished with only 127 yards and was sacked three times as the Niners (6-4) lost their second straight. "The greater the challenge, the greater the glory," Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Thats the way I look at it. Im proud of our guys for the way they fight, and if we continue to do that, were going to win a lot of games." The Saints defence, one of the worst in NFL history a year ago, played well enough to keep the Saints within striking distance despite what appeared to be a number of seemingly costly mistakes. Junior Galettes sack helped stall the Niners last drive. Niners running back Frank Gore managed only 48 yards on 13 carries. Kaepernick completed 17 of 31 passes and scrambled three times for 25 yards. His last run was a 16-yarder on third-and-long that came up 3 yards short of a first down with less than two minutes to go. Brees completed quick three passes on his final series: a 9-yarder to Graham, the 20-yarder to Colston and then another 12-yarder to Graham. Brees finished 30 of 43 for 305 yards and one touchdown, a 3-yard connection with rookie tight end Josh Hill. That was enough to overcome New Orleans turnovers, which began with Lance Moores muffed fair catch, setting up an 11-yard touchdown drive capped by Kaepernicks pass to Anquan Boldin. Boldin was covered by Corey White, whod come in after what appeared to be a serious left leg injury to Jabari Greer. White briefly made up for it with a diving interception, but when he tried to run for a score, he fumbled the ball through the end zone for a touchback. The Niners then drove for Phil Dawsons 55-yard field goal, which gave them a 10-7 lead. New Orleans regained the lead at 14-10, thanks to Travaris Cadets 82-yard kickoff return, which set up Jed Collins 1-yard touchdown run. But in the third quarter, Brees, scrambling right, tried to lob a pass to Graham, only to have Brooks leap up and tip the ball to himself for an interception he returned to the Saints 22. Soon after, Vernon Davis 17-yard TD catch made it 17-14. NOTES: Injuries forced 49ers CB Tarell Brown (ribs) and Niners LG Mike Iupati (knee) from the game. ... Colston also now has 7,930 career yards from scrimmage, breaking Martins record of 7,865. Patty Mills Jersey .75 million contract for the 2014 season and avoided arbitration. The team announced the agreement on Tuesday. Quinndary Weatherspoon Spurs Jersey . His brother — Red Lake chiropractor Richard Radford — is en route to Sochi to cheer on his younger brother. "Ive been getting texts from Eric and he just says the atmosphere is amazing, its special,” he said. https://www.spurslockerroom.com/Marco-Belinelli-City-Edition-Jersey/ .com) - Richard Shermans two interceptions highlighted a dominant defensive effort, as the Seattle Seahawks routed the San Francisco 49ers in a highly anticipated NFC West Thanksgiving clash.MINNEAPOLIS -- Andrei Kirilenko is opting out of the final year of a contract that would have paid him $10 million next season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, making him a free agent. Kirilenko made the decision on Saturday, the deadline that was written into the two-year, $20 million deal he signed last summer, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because an official announcement has not been made. In turning down the final year of his contract with the Timberwolves, Kirilenko is instead hoping to get a little extra security with a longer term deal when the market opens at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on July 1. The versatile forward is coming off a rejuvenating year in which he averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game for the Wolves, his best season in the league since 2005-06. The 32-year-old had more spring in his step after spending the lockout year playing at home in Russia, and he flourished in Rick Adelmans free-flowing system. But Kirilenko also missed 18 games with assorted injuries, one of a number of Timberwolves players who missed significant time last season, the ninth straight year they have missed the playoffs. Kirilenko was largely responsible for the Wolves dramatic improvement on the defensive end, with Adelman enjoying the luxury of being able to put him on every position besides centre, depending on who was the biggest threat on a given night. His ability to pass and move without the ball also made him ideal for Adelmans offence, and the veteran was superb in helping fellow Russian Alexey Shved make the transition to Minnesota for his rookie season last year. New Timberrwolves President Flip Saunders started getting an inclination that Kirilenko could opt out at least a week ago, and he made some plans for such a scenario. Custom San Antonio Spurs Jerseys. The Wolves acquired swingman Shabazz Muhammad in a draft-night deal with the Utah Jazz on Thursday night in part to give them some depth at small forward. They also have Derrick Williams on the roster, though he has shown in his first two seasons to be a more natural fit at power forward and could be on the move himself. The Wolves could try to negotiate a longer term deal -- perhaps two or three years -- at a reduced salary to bring Kirilenko back. Or they could use the $10 million theyre saving on his contract to help pay restricted free agent centre Nikola Pekovic, who is expected to get a significant offer on the open market that the Wolves will have the option of matching, and add a veteran shooting guard to a team that finished last in the league in 3-point shooting last season. Kirilenkos decision could leave the Wolves with about $7 million to spend on free agents. O.J. Mayo, Kyle Korver, Kevin Martin, J.J. Redick and Marco Bellinelli all could be free agent targets for the Wolves. They also want to re-sign unrestricted free agent forward Chase Budinger, who would help fill in for Kirilenko. If Kirilenko does go elsewhere, he will undoubtedly be a sought-after veteran. He proved last season that he still had plenty of good basketball left in him after four years of declining production led to his decision to play 2011-12 in Russia. And any team looking for a lockdown defender and willing passer to help make a playoff push could jump at the chance to bring him into the mix. ' ' '