ATLANTA -- Turner Field has aged well. Its got all the expected amenities of a modern big league ballpark, from luxury boxes to a mammoth video board to the restaurant that hovers above right field to concession stands selling all manner of food and drink.Want a gourmet steak sandwich? Step right up. Craft beer? No problem. Hash browns from local favorite Waffle House? Make `em scattered and smothered.Of course, at 20 years old, its not exactly a baseball relic.But its time in the big leagues is over.The Braves are heading to the suburbs next season, trading the ballpark affectionately known as the Ted -- a nod to former owner and namesake Ted Turner -- for 41,500-seat SunTrust Park , hastily being assembled some 15 miles away as part of a mall-like complex that will generate even more money for the team.Its a little weird, Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers said. But thats kind of the modern day. Everybody has the expectation of the newest and biggest and baddest and greatest thing.Even with a plethora of new facilities that have popped up around Major League Baseball, 13 of 29 ballparks are older.At least two teams -- Oakland and Tampa Bay -- would gladly take Turner Field over their current stadiums.I love this place, said Braves manager Brian Snitker, gazing out from the home dugout during the final week of the season. I think its one of the best ballparks in the National League.Not surprisingly, the move has sparked puzzled reactions around the country and plenty of debate in Atlanta, especially since it goes against the trend of teams moving closer to the inner city, not farther away. Turner Field is located just south of downtown, within site of the state Capitol at essentially the geographic center of the sprawling metropolitan area and the junction of three major highways, but the Braves say they will be closer to the bulk of their fan base in the mostly white suburbs north of the city.Cobb Countys decision to fork over some $400 million in public funding to help build the new stadium, with only minimal debate and no vote of the electorate, helped send its top official, Tim Lee, to defeat in his re-election bid. There are fears of hellish traffic, since Cobb has a limited bus system and isnt served by Atlantas rapid transit system, and concerns that the Braves are cutting themselves off from large portions of the gridlocked metro area.Theres no turning back now, though.Only 11 stadiums in the sports modern ballpark era hosted fewer major league seasons than Turner Field, and seven of those -- from still-in-use Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Houstons long-forgotten Colt Stadium -- were merely temporary homes for transplanted teams or expansion franchises. As for the others, Miamis newly renamed Hard Rock Stadium and Torontos Exhibition Stadium were more suited for football and quickly faced calls to be replaced, while Kansas Citys Municipal Stadium and Washingtons RFK Stadium both lost teams to other cities.None of those was an issue at Turner Field. But the Braves complained that promised development in the low-income neighborhood around the stadium never materialized, leading team officials to explore other options. Not long after the city of Atlanta reached a deal to build a new retractable-roof football stadium for the NFLs Falcons, the Braves stunningly announced in November 2013 they were moving to the `burbs, having pulled off secret negotiations that caught nearly everyone off guard.Turner Field will apparently live on in some downsized form, thanks to an expected deal in which the city will sell the stadium and adjacent land to Georgia State University and a development company. The plan is to convert the Ted into a 30,000-seat football stadium for the Panthers fledgling program (perhaps with a new corporate name to help defray costs) and surround it with dormitories and athletic facilities, as well as private housing and retail space.In a way, the next phase will take the park back to its not-so-deep roots. Transformation was the plan all along.Turner Field began its life as Centennial Olympic Stadium, an 85,000-seat facility that hosted track and field as well as the opening and closing ceremonies at the 1996 Summer Games. Muhammad Ali -- stricken with Parkinsons disease, his hands trembling as he held the torch -- memorably lit the cauldron to start the games. Michael Johnson ran to a world record in golden shoes. Carl Lewis capped his brilliant career with the last of nine gold medals.But the stadium was designed with baseball in mind, in hopes of avoiding the sort of white elephants that have plagued Olympic cities before and since. As soon as the games ended, work began to convert Turner Field into the 50,000-seat home of the Braves. By the following spring, it carried a new name and was ready for opening day.In contrast to todays 90-plus-loss team, those Braves had been to four of the previous five World Series, winning it all in 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. They would never reach those heights in their new digs, even while winning nine more NL East titles through 2005 to extend their unprecedented streak of division championships to 14 in a row.The Braves played only one World Series at the Ted, getting swept by the New York Yankees in 1999. Bitter disappointment became par for the course in October, along with a reputation for not selling out playoff games. They lost 12 of 17 postseason series, including the last eight. Their playoff record was 15-23, including 2-9 in decisive games played at home. Turner Field was the place where other teams came to celebrate, including the Chicago Cubs in 2003 after clinching their first postseason triumph in 95 years.There were a few highlights for the home team. Most notably, Game 6 of the 1999 NL Championship Series.After going up 3-0 on the New York Mets, the Braves lost two straight games at Shea Stadium and returned home suddenly on the ropes. The pressure only intensified when they blew an early 5-0 lead, falling behind in the eighth and 10th innings. But Atlanta rallied both times, and won in the 11th when Kenny Rogers walked Andruw Jones with the bases loaded for a series-clinching 10-9 victory.Chipper Jones will always remember getting the first hit at Turner Field.That ball is still on my mantel, said Jones, who retired in 2012 after a career spent entirely with the Braves.Now, its time for the final hit.After Sundays last game against Detroit, the Ted will be nothing but a memory.Far sooner than anyone wouldve expected.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . C.J. McCollum Jersey .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Brandon Roy Blazers Jersey . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Bill-Walton-Blazers-Jersey/ . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Clyde Drexler Blazers Jersey . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Brandon Roy Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. DENTON, Texas -- Courtland Sutton only made four catches but three went for touchdowns in SMUs 34-21 victory over North Texas in a season opener on Saturday.Sutton finished with 162 yards receiving, including an 88-yarder from Ben Hicks for the fifth-longest touchdown pass in Mustangs history. Suttons other two TD receptions were thrown by Matt Davis. Xavier Jones added 115 yards and a score on 11 carries as the Mustangs rolled up 572 yards offense.SMU jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter on Jones 49-yard run, a 29-yard field goal by Josh Williams, and the 88-yard pass play.dddddddddddd A 46-yard Davis pass to Sutton with two minutes left in the half put the Mustangs ahead 24-7, which came following Horace Richardsons second interception of the game.The Mean Greens Alec Morris threw two touchdown passes, one each to Thaddeous Thompson and Kelvin Smith, but he also tossed three first-half interceptions. ' ' '