ATLANTA -- The Washington Wizards will try to ensure the Atlanta Hawks Dwight Howard Era gets off to a rocky start when they meet in the season opener on Thursday.Howard was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Hawks, who hope to return to the Eastern Conference finals and beyond. Atlanta signed the 6-foot-11 center to a three-year, $70 million deal in the offseason after incumbent center Al Horford took less money to sign with the Boston Celtics.Atlanta went 48-34 last season, finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and was swept by Cleveland in the conference semifinals. Washington went 41-41 to finish 10th in the East and missed the playoffs.The Hawks are hopeful that the 30-year-old Howard, a native of Atlanta, can revive his career. He averaged 17.8 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks over his 12-year career, but slipped to 13.7 points for the Rockets last season.Playing at home, where people have great expectations for what is supposed to happen here, sometimes it can get a little nerve-racking, Howard said. For me, I just try not to think about it. I just try to approach it as though its any other game. But I know this city. They have their hopes real high on us and on me.Its a new start for Washington, too. The Wizards fired coach Randy Wittman and hired Scott Brooks, who spent six seasons at Oklahoma City and took the Thunder to the NBA finals in 2011-12.The Wizards are led by guard John Wall, who averaged 19.9 points and 10.2 assists last season, and Bradley Beal, who averaged 17.4 points while dealing with hip and leg issues that limited him to 55 games. Beal showed he was fully recovered in the preseason, when he effectively distributed the ball and had very few turnovers.Us as players are coming in with a mindset of whatever we have to do, getting it done, Wall said. Its an all-new beginning for all of us, so we want to get off to a good start with a new coaching staff and new group of players we have on the team.Washington is also expected to start Otto Porter, Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat. The Wizards are hopeful that Morris can become the 3-point shooting threat the team has been missing.The Wizards also expect to see second-year player Kelly Oubre Jr. take big strides forward and be a key player off the bench. He should play more than he did a year ago, when he averaged 11 minutes.The Hawks had their starting five on the court at the same time in their final two preseason games. Atlanta will start Howard, forwards Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver and guards Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore.Schroder will be the starter at point guard after veteran Jeff Teague was traded to Indiana. Malcolm Delaney will be the backup at point.The Wizards play their first two games on the road, going to Memphis on Sunday, before playing at home on Wednesday against Toronto. The Hawks travel to Philadelphia for a game on Saturday afternoon. Vans Shoes Clearance Outlet . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Cheap Vans Shoes China . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.vanscheap.net/ . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Cheap Vans Shoes Sale .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Vans Shoes Sale Online Cheap . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. SAN DIEGO -- The Oakland Raiders are going back to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, earning a postseason nod on the same field where they were so thoroughly humiliated in the Super Bowl in January 2003.Fittingly, the only player remaining from that roster, kicker Sebastian Janikowksi, helped the Raiders punch their ticket. He kicked a 44-yard field goal with 2:40 left, his fourth of the game, and the Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers 19-16 in the Relocation Bowl on Sunday.I cant even describe my words man. It feels so special. I waited a long time for that, Janikowski said.So have their fans, and they packed Qualcomm Stadium, outnumbering Chargers fans by roughly 80 percent to 20 percent in the crowd of 68,352, the largest in San Diego this season.All that Silver and Black backing the Raiders (11-3) provided a surreal atmosphere to the game, which might be the Chargers second to last in San Diego after 56 seasons.Team chairman Dean Spanos seems almost certain to move the team to the Los Angeles area after failing to get a big public subsidy to help him replace aging Qualcomm Stadium.The Raiders could be on the move, too, with owner Mark Davis eyeing Las Vegas, although theyd still play in Oakland until a new stadium was built in Sin City.A sour relationship between Spanos and the Chargers fans, as well as yet another losing season, gives the appearance of a franchise flaming out. Raiders fans were all too happy to snap up available tickets.I was very excited, very joyful, looking around the stadium and seeing our fans just going crazy, quarterback Derek Carr said. When we come to San Diego, our fans turn it into a home game. We always think we get nine home games a year.The Chargers (5-9) were eliminated from the playoff chase when Miami beat the New York Jets on Saturday night.The Chargers will miss the postseason for the third time in coach Mike McCoys four seasons and for the sixth time in six seasons overall. Theyve lost 21 of their last 30 games.It was a road game, San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers said. It was just like being in Oakland. Except there were more people.Where were Chargers fans?I dont know. But its been two tough years, Rivers said.It was the sixth time the Chargers blew a fourth-quarter lead this season.The winning drive started on the Raiders 34 and included a 27-yard run by Latavius Murray and a 22-yard pass from Carr to Seth Roberts.Carr scrambled on third-and-8 on the Chargers 29 and thought he got the first down, but was ruled to have gone out of bounds a yard short.dddddddddddd The Raiders challenged and the refs agreed, giving them the first down at the 21.An incompletion and a sack forced the Raiders to turn to their 17-year veteran kicker, who delivered.Reggie Nelson intercepted Philip Rivers with 1:37 to go to seal it.SEABASSJanikowski also had field goals of 21, 45 and 33 yards.We would like to get seven, but we got points when we lined up for them, coach Jack Del Rio said.RIVERSRivers had thrown a go-ahead, 7-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Hunter Henry late in the third quarter.Rivers threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin on the games eighth play.RAIDERSThe Raiders couldnt get out of their own way for most of the first half, including turning over the ball twice in the red zone. But the Chargers failed to capitalize and Oakland tied it at 10 on Carrs 13-yard scoring pass to Michael Crabtree 22 seconds before halftime.The original call of incomplete was reversed after replay showed Crabtree got both feet down before tumbling out of the end zone.Oakland took a short-lived 13-10 lead in the third quarter on Janikowskis 33-yard field goal. The Chargers came right back for Henrys go-ahead TD catch.STADIUM SAGAS: Davis says hes committed to moving the Raiders to Las Vegas, where a $1.9 billion stadium project has been approved, including $750 million in public money. Davis has from the end of the Raiders season until Feb. 15 to apply for relocation.Spanos, son of owner Alex Spanos, appears to be leaning toward moving to Los Angeles and eventually joining the Rams in a stadium in Inglewood scheduled to open in 2019. Spanos angered the fan base last year with a failed attempt to move to Carson and share a stadium with the archrival Raiders.After that failed, the Chargers-backed Measure C was overwhelmingly rejected by San Diego voters on Nov. 8. That would have raised $1.15 billion in increased hotel occupancy taxes for a $1.8 billion downtown stadium and convention center annex.ROAD TEAM IN THEIR OWN STADIUMThe Chargers practiced this week with piped-in crowd noise, anticipating what it would be like Sunday. They skipped individual introductions and were booed anyway when they were introduced as a team.We wanted to come out as a team. We wanted to stay together and fighting, McCoy said.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '