Professional Sports

ATLANTA -- John Schuerholz probably had no idea he'd be a trendsetter last October when he stepped down as the Atlanta Braves general manager to become president of the team.

NEW YORK -- The New York Mets have reached agreement on a contract extension with Johan Santana on what is a record contract for a major league pitcher -- 137.5 million dollars over six years. Santana's average annual salary of 22.9 million is second only to Alex Rodriguez's 27.5 million.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn't appear to be easing up on suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam 'Pacman' Jones.

PHOENIX -- Mike Smith faces plenty of challenges in his new job as coach of the Atlanta Falcons: finding a quarterback, beefing up the offensive and defensive lines, winning over a skeptical fan base still reeling from the Michael Vick debacle.

ATLANTA -- Eric Perrin went back to his IHL days to come up with his game-winning move in a shootout. Perrin, Atlanta's fourth shooter, beat Jocelyn Thibault with a fake before scoring to give the Thrashers a 5-4 win over Buffalo on Friday night.

Turple with 31 saves in losing effort

ATLANTA -- Tom Glavine stepped into the Atlanta Braves' clubhouse Friday and felt right at home. ``I walked though the door and it's like, oh yeah, I'm on this side again,'' he said. ``I'll have that from time to time, but I think it will go away. I think it will go away quickly.

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Thrashers star Ilya Kovalchuk will miss at least two games but apparently avoided serious injury to his right knee when he was hurt in Wednesday night's game against Pittsburgh.

ATLANTA -- Mike Hampton, who hasn't pitched in a major league game since 2005, is expected to be ready for the start of spring training as he continues his comeback from two elbow surgeries and a hamstring injury.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND -- Davis Love III plans to play next week at the ATT Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, his first tournament since he had surgery on his left ankle to repair torn tendons.