NEW YORK — The NFL will release its 2013 schedule Thursday night with a prime-time TV show. Completion of the schedule was delayed because of a conflict in Baltimore, where the Orioles are playing on Sept. 5, the night of the now-traditional Thursday season kickoff. So the Super Bowl champion Ravens will open on the road. The first full weekend of games will be Sept. 8-9. For the second straight year, the NFL will have a full slate of Thursday night games. Read More

The Baltimore Ravens are paying the price for winning a Super Bowl. The NFL champions lost two key components of their defense, linebackers Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe, as free agency began Tuesday. On Monday, they traded star receiver Anquan Boldin, a key to their title run, to the 49ers — the team the Ravens beat 34-31 to win the championship. Read More

Hours after watching nephew Delanie Walker play in the Super Bowl for the 49ers, Alice and Bryan Young were killed in a car accident in Louisiana by a suspected drunken driver. Walker, a tight end, said Wednesday on his Twitter account: “Alice and Bryan Young my aunt and uncle was killed on Monday at 5 am after the super bowl by a drunk. Im going to miss y’all but i know they are in a better place.” Read More

SANTA CLARA — Still steaming over the Super Bowl loss, Colin Kaepernick packed up his belongings in the 49ers’ locker room and made plans with teammates to work out this offseason. They won’t have to wait long. Read More