metown of Chapeco prepared for the sad return of so man

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The previous time the 49ers traveled to play quarterback Matt Ryan in Atlanta, the stakes were high.It was the NFC championship game in January 2013, when Ryan and the top-seeded Falcons were looking to make their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.Ryan was having the best season of his career, but ran into San Franciscos defense.The 49ers rallied for a 28-24 victory, culminated by a fourth-down pass break-up from NaVorro Bowman with 1:13 remaining, sending Jim Harbaughs team to the Super Bowl.It was going good for us, we were rolling, said cornerback Tramaine Brock, one of San Franciscos eight remaining players that played in that game. Champagne shower in the locker room.Fast forward nearly four years and the Falcons offense again looks championship-caliber, only Ryan is having an even better season.Hes having a MVP-type season quarterbacking the leagues highest-scoring offense. His 113.2 passer rating is far better than his previous career high of 99.1 from that 2012 season.San Francisco (1-12), meanwhile, is looking to end its franchise-worst losing streak at 12. There wont be any champagne flowing in the locker room while the 49ers try to avoid finishing with fewer than two wins for the first time in history.Ryan says hes benefiting from being in the second season of coordinator Kyle Shanahans offense.49ers coach Chip Kelly said it doesnt matter what offense Ryans running.Matts one of those quarterbacks that transcends any system, he said. Hes had a couple different coordinators and been successful with whoever was coaching him. Thats just the type of player he is. I think hes an elite quarterback.Ryan ranks second in passer rating, second in yards (4,050), tied for second in touchdown passes (30) and fourth in completion rate (68.3 percent).I think everybodys a little bit more comfortable, year two in the system, and understands just the ins and outs and the nuances of the system a little bit better, Ryan said during a conference call. I think were more comfortable and I think weve got some more good players.Ryan has had new options at his disposal, including speedy receiver Taylor Gabriel and Mohamed Sanu, whos turned into a valuable partner to Julio Jones, the NFLs leader in yards receiving.But Ryan was without Jones (toe) and Sanu (groin) last week when the Falcons traveled to play the struggling Rams.It didnt matter as Ryan threw three touchdown passes in the 42-14 win. Gabriel caught a 64-yard touchdown pass, his fourth, all 25 yards or longer.I thought our guys stepped up and played really well. Its not easy when youre top two guys go down, Ryan said. I thought our guys didnt blink.Jones hasnt practiced this week and is uncertain to play Sunday against the 49ers last-ranked defense. Sanu has been limited.The 49ers will likely be without receiver Torrey Smith, who sustained a concussion when he slammed his head into the turf on an incompletion in the third quarter of the overtime loss to the Jets.Smith lost consciousness, he said, and has a gap in his memory spanning from when the play was called to his drive home after the game.Hes been in the concussion protocol this week and has yet to return to practice, but says hes improving.I dont remember anything. So, thats just one of the things that comes with it, Smith said. But as long as Im feeling better, each and every day, thats all Im going to concentrate on right now.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL NFL Jerseys .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Offcial Jerseys . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. https://www.cheapjerseysjustwholesale.com/ . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? 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RIO NEGRO, Colombia -- Victims of this weeks tragic air crash in the Andes were flown home Friday as Bolivias president called for drastic measures against aviation officials who signed off on a flight plan that experts and even one of the charter airlines executives said should never have been attempted because of a possible fuel shortage.The move by President Evo Morales came after evidence emerged that the pilot reported the plane was out of fuel minutes before it slammed into a muddy mountainside, killing all but six of the 77 people on board. Among the dead were players and coaches from a small-town Brazilian soccer team that was headed to the finals of one of South Americas most prestigious tournaments after a fairy-tale season that had captivated their soccer-crazed nation.As an honor guard played taps early Friday, members of Colombias military loaded five Bolivian crew members who died in the crash onto a cargo plane for the trip back home.Later in the day, caskets containing the remains of 50 Brazilian victims, many draped with sheets printed with their teams green and white logo, began the journey to the Chapecoense clubs hometown in southern Brazil. Fourteen Brazilian journalists traveling with the team and two passengers from other South American nations were being sent home on separate flights.Bolivian flight crew member Erwin Tumiri became the first of the survivors to be released from the hospital. Before leaving, he recorded a cellphone message thanking his rescuers and the medical staff who treated him.The farewells came as details surfaced of possible negligence and unsettling family ties between the Bolivian-based charter company LaMia and the countrys aviation agency, which approved the ill-fated flight Monday between Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and Medellin, Colombia, even though it exceeded the short-haul jets maximum flying range.Attention was focused on a former Bolivian air force general, Gustavo Vargas, who is one of LaMias owners and whose son headed the office responsible for licensing aircraft in Bolivias civil aviation agency. As part of the investigation, the younger Vargas was suspended Thursday along with several other high-ranking aviation officials. The airline, whose only operable aircraft was the British Aerospace 146 Avro RJ85 that crashed, was also grounded.Morales said Friday that the elder Vargas served as his pilot in 2006. But he said that he had no knowledge of the airlines existence and called for a profound investigation to explain whether Vargas son, also named Gustavo Vargas, favored the airline, which has transported the national teams of Argentina and Brazil, as well as many other top-flight South American clubs.One of the suspended officials, Marcelo Chavez, the regional director of the agency that controls air traffic in Bolivia, told The Associated Press that an inspector pointed out irregularities in the airlines flight plan, includinng the fact that the aircrafts fuel capacity was barely enough to fly directly to Medellin.dddddddddddd Chavez said the airline decided to go ahead with the flight anyway and air traffic controllers had no authority to prevent them.On Thursday, the airlines operations director told an Argentine radio network that he also had disapproved of the flight plan. I wouldnt have flown direct, said the executive, Marco Rocha.At LaMias main office in Santa Cruz, a secretary said the airline had yet to be notified of any sanctions. A black rose was left outside the door.A recording of conversations between a pilot of the doomed flight and air traffic controllers, as well as the account of a surviving flight attendant, indicated the plane ran out of fuel before crashing just a few miles from Medellins international airport.In the flights final minutes, pilot Miguel Quiroga, who co-owned the airline with Vargas, could be heard requesting permission to land because of fuel problems, although at first he didnt make a formal distress call. He was told another plane with mechanical problems had priority to land at the airports single runway and was instructed to wait seven minutes.As the jetliner circled, the pilot grew more desperate. Complete electrical failure, without fuel, he said. By then the controller had gauged the seriousness of the situation and told the other plane to abandon its approach to make way for the charter jet. But it was too late.In Brazil, grieving fans and relatives in the soccer teams hometown of Chapeco prepared for the sad return of so many whose lives were cut short by the crash, hanging origami figures in the clubs colors on the fence of the soccer stadium, where a memorial service was to be held Saturday.Marissol Dias, who volunteers for the charity that organized the placing of the origami figures in the shape of a crane -- considered to be a symbol of peace -- said she was overwhelmed by the communitys response. Some 100,000 people were expected at the stadium -- about half of the citys population.This comes from a Japanese legend that says if you make 1,000 of these, a wish will be granted, she said. Our community did much more than we asked.Elsewhere, gravediggers prepared the ground for burial of some of the victims. At the Jardim do Eden cemetery, the caretaker said he was used to the business of death, but this felt different.We bury two people every day. Ive done this job for a long time, but this is different, said Dirceu Correa. It is a tragedy for the families, for the club, and also for us, because we are a part of the city.---Valdez reported from La Paz, Bolivia. Associated Press writers Hannah Dreier in Caracas, Venezuela; Cesar Garcia in Bogota, Colombia, and Mauricio Savarese in Chapeco, Brazil, contributed to this report. ' ' '