Blog Welt » smarter game," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. Lindholm p

SAN FRANCISCO -- On a night they cheered "The Catch" and all the San Francisco greats of old, the current 49ers looked ready to move that success right into the future at a flashy new stadium. In one emphatic finish, NaVorro Bowman, Colin Kaepernick and the Niners sealed their post-season berth in a ceremonious regular-season farewell for Candlestick Park. Bowman returned an interception 89 yards for a touchdown with 1:10 remaining, and the 49ers clinched a playoff spot with a wild 34-24 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night in the likely final game at The Stick. "Thats been the best thing Ive ever seen happen in a football game," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Mightve been close to The Catch." Tramaine Brock broke up a pass intended for Harry Douglas and Bowman got his hands on the ball and took off. He was joined in the end zone by his teammates for a jubilant dog pile. "I always say a lot of plays are made when you run to the ball," Bowman said. "Thats all I was doing was just running to the ball, trying to make a tackle, and it popped up and I was able to make a play for my team." Matt Ryan threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White with 8:34 remaining and a 2-yard score to Tony Gonzalez with 2:09 left as the Falcons (4-11) made things interesting until the end. Atlantas Jason Snelling recovered the ensuing onside kick as the Falcons got the ball back and were driving for a potential go-ahead score when San Francisco (11-4) capitalized with one of its biggest takeaways yet. "When we got the onside kick at the end, we had a great opportunity to win but it wasnt meant to be," Ryan said. "Sometimes the ball bounces in the other direction. Thats been the case for us." Kaepernick ran for a 4-yard touchdown and threw a 10-yard TD pass to Anquan Boldin, and Frank Gore scored on a 1-yard touchdown run as the 49ers used a big second half to clinch a third straight playoff season and fifth consecutive victory. They put up 169 yards in the third quarter after managing just 113 in the first half as the sellout crowd fell momentarily quiet. San Francisco still has a slim chance at winning a third consecutive NFC West crown and earning a first-round bye if St. Louis wins at Seattle and the 49ers beat Arizona on the road. They can win the NFCs top seed with the same scenario, plus a Carolina loss at Atlanta. During an evening of fanfare and famous faces for Candlesticks ceremonious farewell, Kaepernick took charge as his team made good on Harbaughs mantra for the week: "We dont want to be the guys who screw up the final game in Candlestick." "Best birthday present Ive ever gotten, second only to being born," quipped Harbaugh on his 50th birthday. "That was awesome." Boldin had a 10-yard touchdown catch that tied it at 10 with 12:03 left in the third, and Kaepernick ran for a score early in the fourth. This rematch of the NFC championship game featuring teams headed in opposite directions was another thriller. The 49ers won 28-24 last January in Atlanta to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years. Boldin caught six passes for 72 yards and went over 1,000 yards receiving for the sixth time in his career and first since 2009. Kaepernick was 13 for 21 for 197 yards. With the future of the 49ers on display, there were plenty of glimpses to the past -- and five Super Bowl titles. "Theres a lot of history in this stadium," Bowman said. "For this to be the last game, we cannot leave it with an L. So Im glad we got the W." Joe Montanas winning touchdown pass to Dwight Clark -- dubbed "The Catch" -- was celebrated at halftime as the No. 1 moment during a top-10 countdown during each home game this year. The special spot in the right corner of the north end zone was marked with a gold dot. That victory in the NFC championship game after the 1981 season sent San Francisco to its first Super Bowl title. The 49ers are set to move into $1.2 billion Levis Stadium at team headquarters in Santa Clara while Candlestick waits out its implosion day. White had 12 catches for 141 yards and retiring Falcons tight end Gonzalez eight for 63 yards in his final game back in the Bay Area, where he starred collegiately at California. Ryan wound up 37 for 48 for 348 yards but his late mistakes were costly as has been the case in a 1-7 road showing. Hall of Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice played catch on the field before the game, and two baseball greats with their own Hall of Fame distinction -- Willie Mays and Willie McCovey -- were on hand and waved to cheering fans. San Franciscos 31 second-half points were its most since scoring 35 against Atlanta on Sept. 15, 1985, according to STATs. NOTES: Atlantas 24 losses at Candlestick are the most of any 49ers opponent. ... The Falcons lost defensive tackle Corey Peters in the second quarter to an Achilles injury. Atlanta RB Jacquizz Rodgers sustained a concussion. ... 49ers TE Vernon Davis didnt have a reception for the first time all season. Nike Sb Shoes Discount . The Asheville, N.C. native, who signed as a free agent with the CFL club last May, didnt see any action with Edmonton this season after opening the year on the injured list. Nike Shoes Sb For Sale . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. http://www.nikesbcheap.com/ . Rudy Gay made the tying basket in regulation and a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Sacramento the lead for good, and Fredette scored a career-high 24 points to help the Kings beat the Knicks 106-101 on Wednesday night. Nike Sb Clearance Sale . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. Nike Sb Sale . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons.PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading to the playoffs for an eighth straight year. Barring an epic collapse, a Metropolitan Division title is all but clinched. What happens after that, however, is anybodys guess. Dominant in the beginning but dismal at the end, the Penguins let a chance to clinch their second straight division crown slip away in a 4-1 loss to Carolina on Tuesday night that left Pittsburgh just 8-8-2 since returning from the Olympic break. Not exactly the kind of momentum a Stanley Cup contender wants to bring into the final days of the regular season. "If youre not 100 per cent, they can expose you and make you look pretty silly," Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik said. "Thats what happened here tonight." Carolina rookie Elias Lindholm scored twice for the first multi-goal game of his career, Eric Staal and Justin Faulk also scored while Jeff Skinner added two assists. Anton Khudobin stopped 30 shots as the Hurricanes avoided being swept in the season series by Pittsburgh for the first time in 18 years. "I thought we kept it simple and kind of slowly frustrated them as it went on and it was a win we needed," Staal said. Chris Kunitz scored his 35th goal to give Pittsburgh an early lead, but the Penguins crumbled over the final two periods. Sidney Crosby picked up an assist to push his NHL-leading point total to 100, but the Penguins appeared to lose interest after failing to bury the Hurricanes during a frenetic opening barrage in which they appeared ready to run Carolina out of the arena. "We all felt like the first 10 minutes we were carrying the play ... for whatever reason we got away from that," Crosby said. "Maybe we thought that came easy or we could get away with cheating. And it didnt work." No, it didnt. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves, but received little help playing behind a sloppy defence. The Penguins turned it over 13 times, including a series of miscues the Hurricanes were only too happy to turn into goals. "I think we started mismanaging the puck and started having turnovers in the neutral zone," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. The Penguins appeared to right the enigmatic final third of their seeason with a spirited 4-1 victory over Chicago on Sunday night.dddddddddddd Two days later, the sense of urgency evaporated when the Hurricanes -- who are about to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year -- failed to roll over. Pittsburgh recorded 12 of the first 14 shots, including Kunitzs wrist shot from the left circle that Khudobin never saw. Crosby picked up the secondary assist to lift his point total to the century mark for the fifth time in his career, drawing a roar from the usual sellout crowd at Consol Energy Center. It had all the makings of a blowout. One developed, just not the one the Penguins were expecting. Carolina steadied itself late in the first, evening the game on a knuckling slap shot by Faulk that gave the Hurricanes the confidence boost they needed to get back in it. The Penguins malaise did the rest. "That goal from (Faulk) really evens it up and then we kind of just took a deep breath, got our legs going better and then I thought we just started moving better and playing a much smarter game," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. Lindholm put Carolina in front to stay 9:24 into the second with a power-play goal that included a pretty feed from Skinner, who threaded a pass between Pittsburgh defenceman Olli Maattas legs right to Lindholms stick. Fleury never had a chance. The goaltender was equally helpless five minutes later when a turnover by teammate Deryk Engelland handed Skinner and Lindholm a breakaway that Lindholm converted into the first multi-goal game of his brief career. Any late push by the Penguins ended when Staals tip-in eluded Fleury with just over 8 minutes left. Instead of skating off the ice with their fourth division title since Crosbys arrival in 2005, Pittsburgh trudged to the locker room wondering when the consistency that propelled them to the top of the Eastern Conference before the Olympic break will return. "Theres not much good to take out of it," Crosby said. "So weve just got to make sure we respond the next game." NOTES: Carolina played without F Alexander Semin, who was scratched due to an illness. ... The Hurricanes return home to face Dallas on Thursday. ... The Penguins fell to 45-8-4 this season when Crosby scores a point. ' ' '