the three high-traffic exits to other parts of the building.All-Pro r

SAN DIEGO -- Antonio Gates recalls Nick Saban telling him hed one day be an NFL first-round draft pick and that he could play both football and his beloved basketball at Michigan State.Neither happened.Yet heres Gates, the former basketball star from Kent State, needing three touchdown catches to break Tony Gonzalezs NFL record of 111 for a tight end.Being 6-foot-4 and weighing 250 pounds, Gates knows he made the right choice in going to the NFL rather than trying to pursue an NBA career.Still, for every pass hes caught from Drew Brees, Doug Flutie, Philip Rivers and even LaDainian Tomlinson, Gates always has basketball in the back of his mind.Thats the part thats kind of like the chip on my shoulder when I play, Gates said. In my mind, Id be thinking, `I wish I would have given it a chance, to see what would have happened. But its hard to see it because of the success over time playing football. Its kind of hard to say now.But I think thats what drives me still to this day is because I know I didnt give my heart a chance to do what I wanted to do. So Im like, `OK, well, somebodys going to pay for it. If Ive got to play 15, 18 years, to get all the records, thats what drives you, when people cant see you for what you were.Gates, 36, joined the Chargers as a rookie free agent in 2003, a year after leading Kent State to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. He caught his first touchdown pass on Nov. 9, 2003.It was against Minnesota. From Doug Flutie, Gates said. Drew Brees was here and I guess he kind of didnt get off to a good start and Flutie got in the game and I scored a touchdown.Brees regained his starting job but left after 2005, and Rivers became the starter.Rivers and Gates have connected on 82 touchdown passes, the most between a quarterback and tight end. Gates 109 TD catches rank him seventh all-time.Rivers first start was opening night in 2006 at Oakland. In the fourth quarter, he hit Gates on a 4-yard corner route. Rivers threw only 11 passes that night, two to Gates.I was fired up, obviously, to throw a touchdown in my first start, Rivers said. I remember going up to him and saying, `Hey, thats the first of many. And he was kind of like, `Get out of here. I havent got a ball all day. I dont want to hear that.Now you look back and however many its been between he and I, and hes right there at 109. It is special. I want it for him more than anything, and I think he wants it as well. Certainly when given the opportunity Im going to try my hardest to get him into the end zone three more times, at least.When Gates joined the Chargers he hadnt played a down of football since his senior season at Detroits Central High. Saban recruited Gates to Michigan State. Gates left after a year because Saban wouldnt let him play basketball.We didnt see eye to eye. I felt he sat in front of my momma and my father and said I could do both, said Gates, who had grown up idolizing Michigans Fab Five. I told him, `I came here to do both. He said, `No, football. `After playing at two junior colleges, Gates ended up starring in hoops at Kent State. Along the way he was noticing that people he knew were getting drafted high by NFL teams.Among them was Dwight Smith -- my homeboy from high school -- who went to Akron and was a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2001. Smith had two interceptions of Oaklands Rich Gannon, the league MVP, in the Bucs Super Bowl win at San Diegos Qualcomm Stadium in January 2003.Thats how it started, Gates said.He mentioned former Michigan State players T.J. Duckett, Charles Rogers, Julius Peterson, Dimitrius Underwood and Plaxico Burress. All first-rounders.Wait a minute, something aint adding up, Gates said. This is my circle and everybodys getting drafted.So now Nick Saban, what he had told me, started to make sense at that point, Gates said. Because he told me I was a first-rounder. He swore up and down Id go first round if I just played football. I was like, `Uh, I dont want to hear that. You just want me out there. I dont want to hear that, Nick Saban. You just dont want me on the basketball court.But I loved basketball. That was my heart. Its like going to the prom, man. Youve got two girls and you love one and she dont show you no attention and you have to go out of your way. Youre trying to get her attention. And then heres a girl whos just wanting to go to prom with you: `Love you, like your height. You smell good, ` Gates said with a laugh. Thats how football was. Everything was great. `You tall, you fast. You big. And basketball was like, `Uh, can you do it at this level? It was always the ifs ands and buts when it came to basketball. Golly, no matter what I do, I average 20 points a game and they were like, `Do it against Kentucky. I had 27 on that. I had 33 on Boston College. `But can you do it consistently on this level?Football was like, nothing I did was bad. Ultimately it wears on you. It wears on your confidence.Gates had a daughter at the time and made what he felt was the safest choice: the NFL. All these years later, hes certainly erased the doubters.I think its great. Im not surprised, either, said Gonzalez, who plans to congratulate Gates via Twitter when he breaks the touchdown mark.The two were division rivals for six seasons when Gonzalez was with the Kansas City Chiefs.He pushed me to the limit to be the best tight end I could be, said Gonzalez, a studio analyst for CBS NFL Today.Id like to think I did the same. There was always that competition of who could outperform who in the game.Gonzalez also played college hoops, at California, and like Gates picked the NFL over a possible NBA career.I love that he made the right decision, Gonzalez said. With the legacy hes set, hes right there with the other guy from that franchise, Kellen Winslow, two of best to ever put on cleats and play the tight end position.---Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Fake Nike Shoes . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Cheap Nike Shoes . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. https://www.fakenikeshoeswholesale.com/ . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Nike Shoes China . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Cyber Monday Nike Shoes . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn is always seeking ways to bring his players closer together.During the offseason, he asked the front office to redesign the locker room, removing two long inner rows of lockers that divided the room and opening up the space so everyone can see the entire room.Locker spots are now mixed by position and age. No longer are defensive backs in one area and quarterbacks in another. Quinn shuffled everyone around.I like it, said defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who sits next to fullback Patrick DiMarco. You see D-linemen all day, so its nice to talk to someone different.Quinn said the change was necessary after the Falcons began last year 6-1 and finished 2-7 to miss the playoffs in his first season. Atlanta opens the season Sunday against Tampa Bay Buccaneers.It was honestly a way to bring the whole team together more, Quinn said Friday. We thought that would be important.Personal locker space shrunk -- linebacker Sean Weatherspoon joked that everyones riding coach now -- but the wide areas allowed Quinn to put in a pingpong table, sofas, recliners and chairs.The seats arent quite as big, but the views pretty good, Quinn said Friday. Youre still having fun with the guys, so thats a good way to look at it.Second-string quarterback Matt Schaub, back with the Falcons after spending his first three NFL seasons in Atlanta, likes the new layout. Its what he was accustomed to in Houston, where he spent seven seasons as a starter.When I was here (from 2004-06), you had to make it a point to go over to other areas and talk to guys, Schaub said. Even though you could be a tight-knit team, its hard to have that in the locker room when you cant see everyone. This is where iits most important.dddddddddddd.Now that the roster has been pared to down to 53 active roster players and the 10-man practice squad, the loquacious Weatherspoon can sense different parts of the room taking on their own personalities.This is already an effervescent area over here, Weatherspoon said. That area over there is a little more reserved. Its louder over here. A lot of personality.Quinn positioned veteran leaders at the three high-traffic exits to other parts of the building.All-Pro receiver Julio Jones and defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, the longest tenured Falcon at 12 years, have lockers on either side of the hallway that leads to the equipment room and dining area.Quarterback Matt Ryan, who sits next to new center Alex Mack, is right beside the door that leads to the weight room and practice fields. Kicker Matt Bryant, 41, is positioned near the hall that leads to meeting rooms.With those lockers right in the middle, it was hard to see guys on the other side of the locker room, Babineaux said. I used to be on the far end of the locker room. Now Im in this corner. Tyson (Jackson), Julio, (Devonta) Freeman are all right here, and its a brotherhood. Were all tight.Game notes Quinn said RB Tevin Coleman will split kickoff return duties with Weems. WR Justin Hardy will do the same on punt returns. ... Quinn added that Jones has fully recovered from a mild ankle sprain and will be 100 percent on Sunday. ... Third-string RB Terron Ward (ankle) and reserve S Dashon Goldson (hamstring) are both questionable.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '