The Falcons have been exerting tremendous pressure on Gonzalez to make one more Super Bowl run, and sources said he’s wavering from his intention to retire for the first time. While he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, Gonzalez said at his locker after Atlanta’s season ended in the NFC Championship Game that if he were to return he would be interested in playing only for the Falcons.

While the Falcons would certainly like to have a commitment from Gonzalez before free agency begins March 12, sources say no deadlines have been established.

Gonzalez is tempted because he knows — barring major injuries to key players — the Falcons have the talent to go deep into the postseason, and there has been no evidence to suggest his own performance has declined.

A 13-time Pro Bowler, who will turn 38 on Feb. 27, Gonzalez holds NFL records for touchdown receptions (107) and reception yards (14,268) by a tight end. He had 93 catches for 930 yards and 8 touchdowns last season.

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Kupchak recently told Newsday the same thing, saying: “We will not trade Dwight Howard.” Sources say Kupchak has told Howard several times that he has no intention of trading him.

There have been rumblings for the past month that the Lakers are considering moving Howard out of fear that he might leave as a free agent after the season. Despite their concerns, the Lakers have not directly asked Howard whether he plans to stay or go in free agency, according to sources.

Sources have told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne that the Lakers are “very confident” Howard will remain with the team this summer.

Howard has steadfastly refused to reveal his plans for this summer, and sources say he truly does not know what he will do. The sources add that he definitely will not ask to be traded.

Howard becomes a free agent July 1 but wants to live in the present, sticking to his goal of winning the first championship of his nine-year career this season, no matter how unlikely it might seem with the Los Angeles Lakers getting off to a 23-26 start more than three months into the season.

“Right now, my only focus is to get us into the playoffs and win the championship,” Howard said in an interview Monday with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. “Nothing else matters at this point.”

Atlanta, Dallas and Houston will be Howard’s chief suitors when he enters free agency July 1. But the Lakers can offer Howard a five-year contract worth roughly $118 million while every other team in the league can offer him only about $88 million over four years. The extra $30 million means a lot to Howard, sources said, and is definitely a major advantage for the Lakers. With the injuries he’s recently suffered to his back and shoulder, Howard might be less inclined to give up the extra year of security.

“I understand, you know, what the Lakers want,” Howard told Smith on Monday of his contract status. “And I also understand that right now, there’s no need for all the circus and all the stuff that happened last year [with Orlando] to start back up. I don’t want it, my team doesn’t need it, I don’t need it, and frankly, our fans don’t need it neither.”

Of the Lakers’ three free-agent competitors, Houston appears to be the most favorable for Howard. Dallas is aging, and Howard is not keen on playing in his hometown of Atlanta. Houston, on the other hand, has star guard James Harden and is only a frontcourt star away from becoming a legitimate factor in the Western Conference.

While Howard had no interest in going to Houston last season, sources say he is aware the Rockets have become a more attractive destination since acquiring Harden.

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The Detroit Red Wings’ prospect was arrested in October after being pulled over for driving the wrong way down a one-way street. According to reports, he had a blood-alcohol level of .30, which falls under Michigan’s tough “super drunk” designation. He was still in his purple Teletubby costume from Halloween at the time of the arrest, which was later captured on police video.

It added up to an embarrassing, life-altering event — but not a life-ending one.

“That was one of the things that haunts me the most,” Sheahan told ESPN The Magazine. “You hear so many of those horrific accidents. I think about it could have been me. It’s scary. I’m lucky. Now I can look at everything that happened and move on from it. Maybe live my life a little fuller.”

Sheahan is speaking with the media this week for the first time since the incident in hopes that it adds closure to what’s been a dark chapter in his life. But he has no intention of hiding from that night.

Aside from continuing his career with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins with hopes of joining the Red Wings if the NHL lockout ends, he plans on reaching out to speak to other young athletes to provide a cautionary tale.

“It’s so easy to say, ‘Don’t drink and drive.’ So many kids will be in that position and think they’ll be OK,” Sheahan said. “Just have the keys, ‘It’s a short little drive.’ They think it’s fine. But what you could go through, the possibilities of hurting somebody … that’s something I could tell younger athletes.”

Sheahan, 21, said he hasn’t had any alcohol since the incident, although he hasn’t ruled easing it back into his life at some point. He’s focused on taking advantage of the second chance given to him by the Red Wings organization and forgiving hockey fans.

He hopes the incident doesn’t define him. He’s playing some of his best hockey of the season right now, and the 6-foot-2, 2010 first-round pick is the kind of big body Red Wings coach Mike Babcock appreciates up front.

It’s a long road to erase the memory of an embarrassing and potentially dangerous incident, but he’s starting it.

“You read an article like that, and the first thing that comes to mind is, ‘That kid is an idiot,'” Sheahan said. “That’s something I brought on myself and that’s something I’m going to have to prove to everyone — I can be a good person and not make those kinds of decisions.”

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