Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders and Andrew Harris of

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Falcons waived Brian Banks, the linebacker who was attempting to make a late start to his NFL career after spending five years in prison on a conviction that was later overturned. The 28-year-old Banks spent five years in prison and five years on probation following his conviction of rape and kidnapping charges a decade ago. The woman who made the charge when Banks was 16 later recanted her accusation. The conviction was overturned by a California court last year. Banks had two tackles, including one for a loss, in the Falcons 20-16 preseason loss to Jacksonville on Thursday night. He was listed as the third-string middle linebacker and faced an uphill battle to make the team. "Brian is a guy that has not played football in 10 years," Falcons coach Mike Smith said after Thursday nights game. "He has really matured and progressed as a football player since weve had him on our roster." Banks signed with the Falcons in March. He said Thursday he faced a different challenge than most players competing for roster spots as he tried to make up for his lost decade. "My learning curve is definitely different from a lot of the guys here," Banks said. "I was learning a lot of the one-on-one basic things of football as well as the intermediate things of football and meshing them all together at once in a small period of time. It was definitely challenging, but Ive enjoyed myself the whole time." Banks had tryouts with Kansas City, San Diego and San Francisco and attended minicamp with Seattle last year before spending the 2012 season with Las Vegas of the United Football League. The Falcons trimmed their roster to 62 players on Friday. Rookie quarterback Sean Renfree, who left Thursday nights game with a shoulder injury, and tight end Andrew Szczerba were placed on injured reserve. Renfree was a seventh-round pick from Duke. Among players waived were safety Charles Mitchell, running back Ronnie Wingo and kicker Jeremy Shelley. Also waived were offensive linemen Theo Goins and Alec Savoie, defensive tackles Neal Huynh and Micanor Regis, cornerbacks Terrence Johnson and Peyton Thompson and linebacker Pat Schiller. The team must trim its roster to 53 players by Saturday at 6 p.m. Wayne Gretzky Jersey . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Walt Tkaczuk Rangers Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.rangershockeyonlineshop.com/rod-gilbert-hockey-jersey/ . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. Brett Howden Rangers Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Brady Skjei Jersey . The game marks the rare occasion when two homegrown running backs, Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders and Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions, will start in the West Divisions battle for a Grey Cup berth.Lake Forest, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with wide receiver Domenik Hixon on a one-year contract. Hixon spent the 2013 season with Carolina after previously playing with the New York Giants and Denver Broncos. He had just seven catches for 55 yards with a touchdown last year for the Panthers. The 29-year-old Akron product has 109 caatches for 1,460 yards with seven touchdowns in 76 career games.dddddddddddd He was part of two Super Bowl championship teams with the Giants and missed the entire 2010 season in New York because of a torn ACL. Hixon is also a return specialist, having averaged 24.6 yards with a touchdown on 80 kickoff returns and 10.7 yards with a score on 56 punt returns. ' ' '