Petkovic won the title in her second appearance here. She ha

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Matt Ryan is as surprised as anyone that the Atlanta Falcons are tied for first in the NFC South with a 4-6 record.Hes certainly not complaining.Its been a different year, for sure, Ryan said. You play to be relevant in November and December. As quirky as this seasons been, were relevant.Ryan threw for 268 yards and a touchdown, Matt Bryant added four field goals and the Falcons held off a late rally by the Carolina Panthers to win 19-17 on Sunday.Bryants 44-yard field goal with 2:08 left put Atlanta ahead for good. Cam Newton threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes for Carolina, but Graham Gano missed a 46-yard field goal try with 1:27 remaining and had a 63-yarder blocked as time expired.The Falcons moved into a tie with New Orleans for the division lead after the Saints lost at home to Cincinnati 27-10.The way our season is going, were happy to have any win, Falcons defensive tackle Corey Peters said.Newton overcame two early interceptions and threw for 292 yards, but it wasnt enough for the Panthers, who have lost five straight and are 1-7-1 since starting the season 2-0. Itd be easy to say the Panthers are done, yet they still control their playoff destiny.Well, somebody is trying to give us a gift, Panthers cornerback Josh Norman said of the Saints loss. The craziest part about it all is were still in it.When asked if the Panthers still deserve to be in the playoff hunt, Norman replied, Does anybody in the NFC South deserve to be in it?The Panthers trailed 16-3 in the fourth quarter before a sluggish Newton started to heat up.Rookie Kelvin Benjamin made a juggling 22-yard touchdown catch in the left corner of the end zone to give the Panthers some life. Then another rookie receiver, Philly Brown, got behind cornerback Robert McClain and caught a 47-yard score as he fell back into the end zone to briefly give the Panthers a 17-16 lead.But Ryan moved the Falcons into field goal range, completing three passes for 29 yards to Harry Douglas to set up Bryants clutch kick.I try to simplify things as much as I can, Bryant said.He often jokes that its like the golf movie Happy Gilmore: I try to go to a happy place.Everythings working out, he added, so Ill keep doing what Im doing.Newton still had something left, moving Carolina to the Atlanta 29. Gano then hooked the potential game-winner from 46 yards out wide left.The Panthers forced a punt and moved into Atlanta territory behind a pair of hook-and-ladder plays to set up a desperation try for Gano. But his kick was low and blocked by rookie RaShede Hagemen as time expired.I have to pull through and make the kick, Gano said. Thats what it comes down to. No excuses. Im not going to sit here and explain why I missed the kick. My job is to put it through the uprights.Roddy White, who had eight catches for 75 yards, caught a 4-yard TD pass from Ryan to give the Falcons a 16-3 lead.Things got heated after that.Devin Hester was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after knocking a Carolina player off the pile at the end of a play, igniting a lot of pushing and shoving. Two snaps later, Carolinas Thomas Davis stripped Hester and Luke Kuechly recovered, starting another brief altercation with Jacquizz Rodgers taking down Kuechly, although no flag was thrown.The day started off rough for Newton.After he was sacked nine times in Carolinas 45-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, defensive Tyler Jackson raced in unblocked and delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit on the quarterback on Carolinas first play from scrimmage. Jackson was flagged for a 15-yard penalty, but Newton got up holding his chin.Newton didnt seem sharp until late in the game, but the two-time Pro Bowler said the hit didnt affect him.NOTES: Benjamin finished with 109 yards receiving for the Panthers. ... The Falcons are 4-0 in the division, beating Tampa Bay twice and Carolina and New Orleans once each.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Saints Jerseys China . Of all the names out there who could realistically be dealt by Wednesdays deadline, Ryan Kesler remains No. 1 on the most desired list. And while were not sure if theyre any closer to a deal, we now have a defined price. Cheap New Orleans Saints Jerseys . 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Jesus Navas bookended yet another huge home win for City by scoring after 14 seconds and again in second-half stoppage time, with Sergio Aguero also netting in each half to add to an own goal by Sandro and a brilliant strike by Alvaro Negredo.CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Andrea Petkovic remembered why she started playing tennis and along the way gave everyone else a reminder about how talented she is when shes at her best. The 26-year-old from Germany, who fell from ninth in the world in 2011 to 177th two years later, capped a stunning run to the Family Circle Cup title on Sunday, Petkovics first win in three years. She outlasted Jana Cepelova 7-5, 6-2 in the finals. "I just wanted to get back to why I started playing tennis, because I had fun playing it and because I love the sport," said Petkovic, whose progresses was slowed by several injuries that cost her much of 2012. The climb back was painful at times. Petkovic wanted to quit the game after falling in French Open qualifying last year and wondered if shed ever feel success at the sport again. So she decided to play for fun and not for the wins. "I just needed to remind myself and it came together this week, and Im very thrilled about that," she said. Petkovic entered this one seeded 14th, ranked 40th in the world and with few expectations about her first clay-court event of the season. Instead, Petkovics powerful forehand and grind-it-out mindset helped her oust three straight top 10 seeds in No. 4 Sabine Lisicki, No. 9 Lucie Safarova and No. 6 Eugenie Bouchard on the way to the finals. Petkovic used that same formula against Cepelova, a rising 20-year-old from Slovakia competing in her first WTA final. Cepelova led 5-4 and was a point away from capturing the first set. But Petkovic rallied to win that game and begin a run of eight in a row to take control of the match. "I have to let loose and play like I can," she told herself. Petkovic was energized after winning the crucial game and quickly broke serve to move in front. She took the set a game later and continued her run to build a 5-0 lead that Cepelova could not overcome. For Petkovic, the victory was more gratifying than her two other career WTA wins because of all her struggles. This "is a different feeling," she said. "Now, Im much more grateful. Its more rewarding." Petkovic dropped to the ground when Cepelovas final shot landed out of play. She jogged to the net to hug her opponent, waved to the crowd and did a celebration dance as fans applauded.dddddddddddd She let her fun side shine through all week. She joked in postgame comments she might get a bit crazy on the flight back home, dancing with flight attendants and drinking champagne from her latest trophy. "Im going to have champagne and I dont even drink champagne," she said. "But Im going to have it for the heck of it." Petkovic earned $120,000 for her third career WTA victory, which was her first since winning in Strasbourg in 2011. Petkovics victory closed a week of surprises at the Family Circle Tennis Center. Only one of the tournaments top 10 seeds made it through to the final four and it was the first time a WTA tournament included three semifinalists 20 years old or younger since Amelia Island in 2008. Cepelova had a stunning run of her own, topping world No. 1 Serena Williams on Tuesday night to set the stage for plenty more unexpected results. Cepelova became the Family Circle Cups first unseeded finalist since Elena Vesnina in 2011. Cepelova didnt expect a long visit here, arriving without her coach, trainers and hitting partners. She typically ordered room service at the hotel and had to scrape around to find hitting partners to warm up before matches. "Before the tournament, if somebody told me youll be in the tournament finals I would not believe them," Cepelova said with a smile. "But it was a really nice week." Cepelova is also projected to move up some 30 spots in the rankings to around 50th in the world when the new list comes out next week, the WTA said. Petkovic won the title in her second appearance here. She had reached the round of 16 last year, but had to withdraw from a match against Caroline Wozniacki. She was on the phone with her father, Zoran, after the win. Father and daughter now have Palmetto State success in common. Zoran Petkovic was one of the leading singles players at the University of South Carolina in the early 1980s. He told his daughter stories of how Americans on campus loved wearing "cowboy boots and blue jeans," she recalled, laughing. "He was very happy, very emotional," Andrea Petkovic said of their phone call. "I dont know if he was tearing up, though." 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