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ATLANTA -- Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Monday that retiring centre Todd McClure will have a new home in the teams Ring of Honor. Cheap Buffalo Bills Jerseys . McClure, the Falcons longtime centre, officially announced his retirement in a ceremony attended by quarterback Matt Ryan and offensive linemen Tyson Clabo, Sam Baker and Justin Blalock. Blank said McClures career merits him joining former stars as Deion Sanders, Tommy Nobis and Steve Bartkowski in the teams Ring of Honor. "You deserve to be in that Ring of Honor, and we will get you there as soon as we can," Blank said while pointing out another longtime centre, Jeff Van Note, also earned the teams highest honour for a former player. McClure was a seventh-round pick out of LSU in 1999 and went on to become one of the teams most durable players. He set a franchise record with 148 consecutive starts and missed only four games over the last dozen seasons. He didnt play in his 1999 rookie season but became one of the teams most reliable starters the last 13 seasons. McClure, 36, was emotional at times, including when he looked at his teammates and when he talked about the support from his family. He stopped and looked down several times during the news conference. "Thats what Im going to miss the most about this game, guys like those sitting right here," McClure said. "The friendships weve had, the conversations weve had, the joy weve had in the locker room on Sunday after a big win, the struggles weve gone through and gotten each other through. ... I cherish every moment that weve spent together." Clabo said it was difficult watching McClure struggle with his emotions. "How could I not come?" asked Clabo, the offensive tackle who joined McClure on the Falcons starting line for seven seasons. "I can promise you I wouldnt have the success Ive had without him," Clabo said. "Hes an incredible mentor. Its going to take several leaders to do the job he did in that respect." McClure also joked he would have returned for another season if offered the same deal as tight end Tony Gonzalez, who postponed his planned retirement when he agreed to return for 2013. "My offer to the Falcons was Id play for $10 million and no training camp and half the home games, but Tony had already taken that offer," McClure said. McClure played in 198 games, including 195 starts. He made every start in 2012 after missing three games in 2011 with a right knee injury. He often played through knee problems. "Im going to look forward to waking up on Monday morning and being able to walk," McClure said. Coach Mike Smith said he always relied on McClure as a leader. "Believe me, if we dont have mentors and guys like Todd McClure on our team, we dont have the success weve had over the last five years," Smith said. "I could always go to Todd and really get the temperature of that room, whats going on in that locker room. It didnt matter if youre a first-year player or a 10-year player, everybody wanted to talk to Todd about how we were doing things. Hes a head coachs dream to have around." McClure said he was grateful he played only for the Falcons. "To be in one place for my whole career, I definitely feel blessed," he said. "It will be hard for guys to do that, just with the nature of the business. Ill cherish that forever. "I love this franchise. Ill be a Falcon for life." Among the candidates to start at centre will be Peter Konz, who started 10 games at right guard as a rookie in 2012, and Joe Hawley. Ryan, entering his sixth season, said McClure is "just the consummate professional, the best weve ever had." Banners hang from the Georgia Dome rafters to honour former players in the Ring of Honor. Only eight players have earned the honour, including William Andrews, Jessie Tuggle, Mike Kenn, Claude Humphrey, Bartkowski, Van Note, Sanders and Nobis. Sanders was the last player to join the ring in 2010. cheap jerseys . David Perron scored a goal and added an assist on Saturday as the Edmonton Oilers came away with a 5-2 exhibition victory over the Vancouver Canucks. nfl jerseys china . Five victories, two of them World Golf Championship events along with the Players. You need a pretty sturdy mantle piece to hold the hardware from those events. http://www.cheap-nhljerseys.us.com/ . Hoyer is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery on Friday, and Browns coach Rob Chudzinski said he hopes the QB will be able to return for practice next spring. cheap nfl jerseys . Play hard, play tough and play rough. The philosophy has been a lesson in frustration for opponents. wholesale jerseys . I saw him play in Week 3 last season, Green Bay at Chicago, and then again in the Super Bowl in Dallas.WINNIPEG -- Given that the Winnipeg Jets were a big reason why the NHL had planned a major realignment, team chairman Mark Chipman took the news remarkably well that changes wouldnt be made next season. "Im a little disappointed, I would say not overly," he said Saturday. "Honestly, I think this is something that will occur in due course." The leagues plan to move from six divisions to four conferences was approved by the board of governors in December, pending input from the NHL Players Association. But the plan was stalled Friday after the union opposed the changes. Instead, the NHL will maintain its current alignment and playoff format for the 2012-13 campaign. Chipman said the only real option now is to work out a schedule for next season under the current structure. "There just isnt time to explore whatever (legal) remedies the league might have." It leaves the Jets in the Southeast Division with Florida, Washington, Tampa Bay and Carolina. "If it allows the league the opportunity to create something better for all of us, I dont know that its that big a sacrifice for a year," Chipman said. The move of the former Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg in the off-season was a catalyst for change and Chipman said theres no question the Jets travel situation would have been better. Under the plan, Winnipeg would have been in one of two eight-team conferences along with Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota and Dallas. There were also two seven-team conferences. "It would have been improved travel for us for sure because the bulk of it would have been in the Central time zone," Chipman said regarding suggestions that travel would have been harder on some teams under realignment. "I think there may be some concerns ... in terms of travel that result from everybody playing everybody." But he added both the league and the players have said they see value in that and he doesnt know whether such fears were valid in the first place. Cheap New England Patriots Jerseys. Jets coach Claude Noel told reporters in Buffalo on Saturday that he would not answer any questions about realignment, but did deflect a question about travel concerns. "I coach the team," said Noel. "Ive come from the American League where youre on the bus forever. So travel to me is a non-issue." Defenceman Ron Hainsey, the player union representative for the Jets, offered his thoughts on the travel concerns Saturday. "The playoff format, with eight teams in two conferences and seven teams in the other two, there was no willingness on the other side to have a conversation about how to possibly tinker with that," Hainsey said. "The travel, from the limited stuff we got, could potentially be worse for some western teams, including Winnipeg. Without knowing what it looked like, its hard to consent or not consent." The Jets have spent a lot of time on the road this season without a lot of success. Going into Saturdays game in Buffalo, their road record of 5-10-4 was 26th in the league. But Chipman isnt blaming travel for their lack of wins away from the cheering crowds in the MTS Centre. The Jets started this road trip in seventh spot in the Eastern Conference but were 10th going into Saturdays game. "The travel has been challenging at times but it hasnt been overly burdensome, given the fact that we walked into a schedule," he said. That wont be the case next season, when the Jets have a chance to set their own priority dates rather than inherit them from Atlanta. "Because were not walking into an already determined schedule, I already talked to the commissioner about this on a couple of occasions, I believe theyll be very fair and very accommodating to us in terms of scheduling next year," Chipman said. In the end, he said be believes the new plan will likely be adopted. "I think that either what we approved or something similar will result." -- With files from The Associated Press. ' ' '
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