By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

April 21, 2010, 7:30PM

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees officially will be announced Thursday as the cover boy for EA Sports’ Madden 11 video game, having “won” a fan vote over Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.

As has been well-documented over the past decade, the Madden cover is both an honor and a curse. A number of high-profile athletes have either abruptly retired (Barry Sanders in 1999), suffered significant injuries (Michael Vick in 2003, Donovan McNabb in 2005, Shaun Alexander in 2006 and Troy Polamalu last year) or suffered a drop in production.

Read the rest of the story here.

f the NFL draft is Christmas, then the league’s schedule release date must be Thanksgiving. As in thanks to the NFL for finally cranking this thing out.

Except maybe if you’re the Saints. Congrats on winning the Super Bowl, but the league appeared to make it as demanding on the world champs as it possibly could.

First, there’s the opener against the Vikings and — wait for it — Brett Favre. The Vikings’ players felt they outplayed the Saints and had to be choking hard while watching the Saints go on to beat the Colts. That was their Super Bowl, or it should have been, they felt. The NFC title game was a feisty affair, and I expect nothing less in the Thursday opener.

Read the rest of the story here.

2010 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
(All times CENTRAL)

Date Opponent Kickoff TV
Sept. 9  MINNESOTA VIKINGS (Thursday) 7:30 pm NBC
Sept. 20 at San Francisco 49ers (Monday) 7:30 pm ESPN
Sept. 26 ATLANTA FALCONS Noon FOX
Oct. 3   CAROLINA PANTHERS Noon FOX
Oct. 10  at Arizona Cardinals 3:05 pm FOX
Oct. 17  at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Noon FOX
Oct. 24  CLEVELAND BROWNS Noon CBS
Oct. 31  PITTSBURGH STEELERS 7:20 pm NBC
Nov. 7   at Carolina Panthers Noon FOX
Nov. 14  BYE
Nov. 21  SEATTLE Noon FOX
Nov. 25  at Dallas Cowboys (Thursday) 3:00 pm FOX
Dec. 5   at Cincinnati Bengals Noon FOX
Dec. 12  ST. LOUIS RAMS Noon FOX
Dec. 19  at Baltimore Ravens Noon FOX
Dec. 27  at Atlanta Falcons (Monday) 7:30 pm ESPN
Jan. 2   TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS Noon FOX

Well a few weeks ago the Who Dat Nation was talking about  making a big showing at the Dallas game, but since it’s on Thanksgiving day I wonder how many people will not have to change the location of the big showing on the road ?  Anybody  have any ideas ?

By James Varney, The Times-Picayune

April 20, 2010, 11:21AM

In a move that should significantly impact their decisions in the draft later this week, the New Orleans Saints confirmed Tuesday they came to terms with defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson on a one-year contract. The deal was in the neighborhood of $2 million, according to a league source.

Wilkerson, 29, was in Kansas City preparing to fly to New Orleans and join the Saints, who began conditioning drills Monday at their training complex in Metairie. He is slated to sign the contract sometime tomorrow, according to the team.

Read the entire story here.

By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

April 19, 2010, 3:12PM

After leading the New Orleans Saints to the first Super Bowl in franchise history, quarterback Drew Brees might have another daunting task on his hands – breaking the “Madden curse.”

Brees is one of three finalists for the “honor” of appearing on the cover of EA Sports’ Madden 11 video game. The winner, based on fan voting, will be announced before the draft on Thursday night. The other two finalists are Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne (a New Orleans native).

Read the rest of the story here.

By Sarah Carr, The Times-Picayune

April 17, 2010, 7:50PM

Intent on running to the House of Blues to solve their next riddle, the team almost missed New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees standing on the balcony of the Omni Bank branch in the French Quarter.

“Where are you guys going?” Brees called out.

“House of Blues,” they responded, slightly stunned.

“Are you sure there’s not a clue here?” he said, smiling.

Brees was on hand Saturday morning to help provide answers in a French Quarter scavenger hunt modeled loosely on the reality television show “The Amazing Race.” The Super Bowl MVP also lent star power to the event, which raised money for his Brees Dream Foundation.

Read the story here.

By John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune

April 17, 2010, 8:06AM

With the last pick of the first round — No. 32 overall — of the NFL draft on Thursday night, the New Orleans Saints are going to pick Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.

General Manager Mickey Loomis said as much Friday.

Well, actually, he didn’t.

Subterfuge being the name of the game at this stage of the process, Loomis showed his mettle by not revealing any specifics beyond the minimum, matching his counterparts league-wide in the category of keeping his team’s plans inside the vest.

Read the rest of the story here.

By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

April 16, 2010, 3:19PM

New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis touched upon a variety of subjects while addressing the media in a pre-draft press conference on Friday afternoon – although, as expected, he didn’t reveal any of the Saints’ specific draft plans.

“The trick of this press conference is to avoid giving the competition any idea of our plans,” Loomis said.

Read the story here.

By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

April 15, 2010, 4:46PM

The New Orleans Saints released their offseason workout schedule Thursday. Training camp, which is typically the only portion of the offseason open to the public, is scheduled to open July 29 and will be held at the team’s practice facility in Metairie.

The Saints will begin their offseason conditioning program Monday. Rookie minicamp is scheduled for the weekend of May 7-9. The full-squad minicamp is scheduled for the weekend of June 4-6. And the12 sessions of organized team activities will be scattered between May 24 and June 18, when the team will break for the summer until training camp.