NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons have 17 losses between them and neither will finish the regular season with a winning record.And they couldnt care less.The Saints (6-8) and Falcons (5-9) have been divisional rivals for nearly half a century and cant stand each other. Theres also an NFC South title on the line.So one could argue there is no more compelling, high-stakes game on the NFL schedule than the one kicking off in the Superdome this Sunday.Its going to be loud and crazy in there. I cant wait, Falcons receiver Roddy White said. Its an important game for both teams with the season weve been having. Were both right there. The winner of this game is probably going to win the division, so the excitement will be there. Everybody will be pumped.The Saints will be the last team to apologize if they win a division with a losing record. In 2010, when they were defending Super Bowl champions, they won 11 games but had to open the playoffs at 7-9 Seattle, which won the NFC West that season. The Saints lost.This at the beginning of the season is what you hoped for, the opportunity to be playing for something significant this time of the year, Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. Thats what we have the chance to do. ... I know the fans enjoy this rivalry. It doesnt get any better than this.While New Orleans already has been eliminated from wild-card contention, the Saints can win the division as soon as this weekend if they beat the Falcons and if Carolina (5-8-1) loses to Cleveland. However, the Saints could also be eliminated if they lose to the Falcons and the Panthers beat the Browns, because the Panthers and Falcons play each other in Week 17.Atlanta could remain in control of its playoff destiny with a victory, but would be eliminated with a loss.Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis has predicted that New Orleans would give the Falcons their funeral, to which White responded facetiously, May we rest in peace.White added, Theres no kind of motivation thats going to make us step up and be like Oh, they said this. No, we know what it is, its Saints-Falcons.Indeed, when Atlanta was featured on the HBO series Hard Knocks back in August, the series showed some members of the Falcons mentioning their rivalry with, and disdain for, New Orleans.Lewis, a New Orleans native, was among those watching.They didnt pinpoint no other team, Lewis said. They pinpointed us. So its war.Some things to know about the 91st meeting between the Falcons and Saints:AERIAL ASSAULT: The game features the top two passing offences in the NFC. Brees and the Saints lead the conference with 301.8 yards passing per game, while the Falcons, with Matt Ryan under centre, have passed for 286.1 yards per game.DISMAL Defence: The Falcons rank last in total defence in the entire NFL, giving up 409.9 yards per game, while the Saints rank second-to-last, giving up 390.1 yards. When the teams met in Atlanta in their regular season opener on Sept. 7, Ryan set an Atlanta record for yards passing in a game with 448, and the Falcons won in overtime, 37-34.Ryan threw for a career high. It hurt, Lewis said. Its definitely something weve got to remember.HANGING TIGHT: Brees has had a lot of success throwing to tight ends this season. Jimmy Graham, Josh Hill and Ben Watson have combined to catch 104 passes for 1,074 yards and 16 touchdowns. Graham has accounted for most of that, with 73 catches for 782 yards and nine TDs.JULIO SHOW: Falcons coach Mike Smith claims that he intends to wait until his game-day inactive list is due before deciding whether top receiver Julio Jones will play in New Orleans. Jones hurt his hip at the end of a loss two weeks ago at Green Bay, where he had a franchise single-game record 259 yards receiving, giving him 1,428 yards for the season. He skipped last weekends loss to Pittsburgh.SECONDARY CHANGES: New Orleans and Atlanta have both made personnel changes in their defensive backfields recently. The Saints shook things up by inserting three new defensive backs in the starting lineup in a victory at Chicago last Monday: recently acquired safeties Jamarca Sanford and Pierre Warren, as well as young cornerback Terrence Frederick, who was promoted last month from the practice squad. For the Falcons, Robert McClain has started the past four games at cornerback for injured Robert Alford. McClain has one interception this season, and it came in Week 1 against New Orleans.___Online:AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Nike Air Max TN Baratas . The Brazilian driver had the second-best time in last months tests at Jerez and said the "good start" could play to his advantage when the season gets underway in Australia in March. Nike Air Max 95 Mujer Rebajas . - On the night Dirk Nowitzki overtook Dominique Wilkins on the career scoring list, Brandan Wright was a human highlight film all by himself. http://www.tiendasairmaxbaratas.com/zapa...-270-react.html. The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. Nike Air Max Thea España .com) - The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Seth Curry on Tuesday. Air Max Baratas Falsas .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova.The NCAA drops the puck today on their mens hockey tournament and there will be no shortage of Canadians on the ice as 16 teams try to make their first step to becoming National Champions. The tournament includes a total of 109 Canadian players. There are 35 players from Ontario, 35 from British Columbia, 18 from Alberta and seven each from Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Many of those players are trying to follow in the footsteps of several successful Canadian NHLers who went to college, including four members of the gold-medal-winning Sochi Olympic team: Jonathan Toews (North Dakota), Martin St. Louis (Vermont), Patrick Sharp (Vermont) and Chris Kunitz (Ferris State). "I think that if more Canadian families were exposed to what college can do — as parents for your kid socially, athletically and academically ... I think more people would be doing it," said University of Denver coach Jim Montgomery, a Montreal native who went to Maine and ended up playing 122 NHL games. Among the 945 players to see NHL action this season, 100 were Canadians who played at a U.S. college. Naturally, many went the more traditional road, through the QMJHL, OHL or WHL. But the NCAA is slowly becoming another acceptable way to get there. "Theres no wrong path," Phoenix Coyotes assistant general manager Brad Treliving said. "I think as a Canadian guy you grew up and youre around major junior hockey more, so ... youre closer to it than you are U.S. colleges, but, jeez, theres no wrong answer. Its an individual choice and theres benefits to both." Treliving said major junior hockey is the "quicker" path to the NHL because it has more of a pro-style schedule and grind. But others point to colleges 40-game season as a better chance for some players to develop. Theres more opportunity to lift weights and practice. "Theres the Sidney Crosbys and the Ovechkins and the Malkins of the world that could grow under a rock and are going to play in the NHL," Montgomery said. "Theres otther perfect examples — elite players like the Paul Kariyas of the world.dddddddddddd. Those are the ones everyone knows but its like, did he really need to go to college? Well, Paul Kariya needed to go to college because he was 155 pounds and in 18 months of college he was 175 pounds ready to play against 30-year-old men that are 225 pounds. "It teaches you how to be a man quick." Perhaps some notoriety can come from watching this NCAA tournament. Boston College defenceman Michael Matheson (Pointe-Claire, Que.) is a first-round pick and top prospect for the Florida Panthers, while Quinnipiac has Connor and Kellen Jones (Montrose, B.C.) and Matthew Peca(Petawawa, Ont.). Wisconsin goaltender Joel Rumpel (Swift Current, Sask.) has been one of the best in the country this season and could soon follow in the footsteps of other recent Canadian college players like Matt Read, Ben Scrivens and Cory Conacher who have signed NHL contracts. Hamilton brothers Greg and Matt Carey recently signed deals with the Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively, after playing at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. Greg Carey came away satisfied with his direction, which was only possible because playing tier-2 junior hockey opened him up to the world of U.S. colleges. "You have friends, older friends on your team who have the ability to go and to head down to the States and play and it looks like a lot of fun," Carey said in a phone interview. "And then you get to go on your visits and you get exposed to this world that you really dont see as a Canadian kid growing up. We see a lot of the major junior with the Dub and the O and the Q and the NHL is right there, front and centre, so we dont really get the NCAA." Looking at the tournament from an NHL draft perspective, the top eligible player in the tournament, according to Craig Buttons rankings, is Boston Colleges starting goalie Thatcher Demko. Demko posted a .921 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average in 21 starts this season. ' ' '