There Was a House in New Orleans...

....that I call my house of worship.  However instead of being called the Rising Sun, it's called the Superdome.  Sorry, the "Mercedes-Benz Superdome".  Anyway, I just came back from a 5 day stint in the Big Easy.  There were some negatives but mostly positives to the visit.  The city still cares a lot about its Saints.  While dining at a John Besh restaurant, there was a large chalk drawing of "Free Sean Payton" and plenty of shirts saying the same thing.  Tom Benson needs to get on the ball and figure out how to sign Breesus (Praise Breesus).  I understand that the financials of the salary cap are quite complicated, but what isn't, is how important Breesus is to New Orleans and how symbiotic that relationship has become.  We don't have Payton this year to prop us up, so we need Brees.  Chase Daniel is making news talking about how ready he is and I just want to be like, "Chase, buddy, just sit down.  Thanks for the effort, keep it up  and stuff but just come on...stop it".   
       Being down there really did solidify that I would like my doctorate work to have something to do with that city.  The potential there for the city to be so much greater than it already is, is there.  I had great food with great people and I can't look more forward to returning.  God Bless New Orleans, and Bless you boys. 

Geaux Saints!
       

Sh*t storm forecast - anywhere from 3 games to a year

So Judge Goodell, I mean Roger Goodell (sometimes I get confused and have to remind myself that he's not a judge regardless of him likely prancing around in a black robe when no one is looking) handed down the sentences, I mean punishments, to the players he felt were involved in these shenanigans. Jonathan Vilma was sentenced to a one year suspension. The NFLPA has given some indication that they don't care for this ruling, and will likely support an appeal. I support an appeal. What if, regardless of Vilma offering the 10k, Favre didnt get hurt? Would Vilma still get suspended for his 10k offer, however fruitless? If not, then that leads to the thought process that it only mattered because someone got a booboo, and if the punishment was dependent on the severity and player popularity, which I'm inclined to believe it was, that would then lead one to conclude that if some popular player is injury prone on the field (like being 43 years old and named Brett Favre), if they get hurt you're screwed. Did Goodell research and evaluate every single potential offer for a "pay-for-play"? I would think not because this practice is/was widely used in the NFL and the Saints were merely the ones caught holding the bag (of 10,000 dollars cash) and so far the only team that has been so severely penalized.

Hargrove, who is now on the Packers, got an 8 game suspension. Will Smith, of the Cardinals-Saints playoff game fame, got a 4 game suspension, and Scott Fujita who's with the Bengals still I think, got 3 games. I have absolutely no idea what sort of formula Goodell used to come up with these numbers.

 I have no doubt that the Saints will do fine this year. I have every confidence in our draft and free agent class coming in. If it's one thing the Saints are good at, its making the best out of a crappy hand they've been dealt.

I'm not even going to address the locker room tapping thing except for to say, shame on you ESPN. Thats the conclusion you made and sensationalized? Thats like finding a camera phone that someone broke 10 years ago and telling everyone that while you have absolutely no proof and aren't completely sure it was ever a working phone to begin with, not to mention you're not even sure that the person who's phone it was ever used it for anything, that clearly there are illicit pictures on there and the phone was used to coordinate high crimes and treason. Idiots...

Well, enough of the venting. Bless you boys, and GEAUX SAINTS! I'm looking forward to a 2012 year and seeing the new Saints as well as the old!

(Praise Breesus).