Saints rout Falcons...Vick sentenced...Season-ending surgery for Alex Smith ATLANTA (AP) The Atlanta Falcons' nosedive without Michael Vick continued Monday night with a 34-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees (breez) passed for 328 yards and three touchdowns including two scoring strikes to Marques Colston. While the Saints have faint playoff hopes at 6-and-7, the Falcons fell to 3-and-10.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Michael Vick will be spending most of the next two years locked away in federal prison. The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback was sentenced Monday to 23 months in prison for his involvement in dogfighting. It sounds as if Vick will never play for Atlanta again as Falcons' owner Arthur Blank said on the team's Web site that the Falcons "have to go forward assuming Michael will not be back."


SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith will have surgery on his injured right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season. The former number-one overall draft pick has missed six games this season with a separated shoulder. Smith completed just 48.7 percent of his passes for 914 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions this season.

NEW YORK (AP) While he maintains his innocence, New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas says the 11 and a-half million dollar settlement of a sexual harassment case brought by a former team executive is the best course for Madison Square Garden and he fully supports it. Anucha (ah-NOO'-kah) Browne Sanders had been awarded 11.6 million dollars in punitive damages, but this deal replaces that.

Washington (AP) According to several reports, free agent catcher Paul Lo Duca (luh-DOO'-kuh) has agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals, pending a physical. Lo Duca is a four-time All-Star who has played for the Mets the past two seasons.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 12-11-07 0109CST | save this article / add to your favorites list