NFL
Super Bowl XLVII coming to New Orleans in 2013
Local officials in New Orleans hope the arrival of Super Bowl XLVII next February (2013) will finally allow the Big Easy to breathe easy again as it continues to rebuild from Katrina’s wrath. The Super Bowl will be preceded by the NCAA men's Final Four this year, and will be followed by the women's Final Four in 2013. The combined economic impact of the events is expected to exceed $1 billion. Full article.
Saints Chris Ivory could be next up at RB
In the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s 62-7 win over the Colts, Ingram, the Saint’s leading rusher this season, bruised his right heel. Coach Payton indicated that Ingram will be day-to-day for the rest of the week. The Saints removed second-year running back Chris Ivory from the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list, which started a 21-day window in which they must do one of three things: bring him up to the active roster, release him, or keep him on PUP the rest of the season. Full article.
Saints trim roster
The New Orleans Saints coaching staff recently made ten moves to reach the NFL’s first mandatory roster reduction that included cutting defensive end Alex Brown. The other big roster move for the Saints on Tuesday was the signing of former Carolina Panthers kicker John Kasay. Full article.
NFL Owner/Player dispute: No deal yet
The meeting at the NFL Players Association headquarters on July 20 lasted nearly 10 hours and included the group's executive committee and the team reps. In Atlanta, where the owners' labor committee met, general counsel Jeff Pash said the sides would talk through the night in hopes of having a final agreement ready to go Thursday. Full article.
NFL: What's ahead if no deal reached
Some NFL training camps are slated to open at the end of next week, and while the regular season still appears safe, the first full weekend of preseason games could be canceled. Full article.
Pressure mounts for deal as NFL camps near
NFL teams owners and players' association leaders met for another long negotiating session, hoping to break the labor lockout that has now lasted more than 16 weeks over revenue division for a $9 billion business that is easily the most popular professional sports league in America. Full article.
NFL players return to work
The NFL cleared the way for some of its basic football operations to begin working on April 30, five days after a federal judge declared the lockout illegal and nearly seven weeks after it began. Players now have been cleared to talk with coaches, work out at team headquarters and get playbooks. The NFL is also expected to release detailed guidelines for free agency, trades and other roster moves. Full article.
NFL players told not to participate in “football activities” at team headquarters
The 2011 season, and the business between the teams and players currently sits in a holding pattern. With more court battles expected, the NFL said it needed "a few days to sort this out" and provide rules to follow. In one of the oddest days in NFL history, players showed up at their team headquarters and most were told that they were welcome to come inside -- as long as they didn't participate in any sort of "football activities." Full article.
Saints to play exhibition opener against 49ers - Maybe
The NFL office recently announced preseason schedules for all 32 teams, even though the league’s players have been locked out of their training facilities since March 11. If there is a season, the New Orleans Saints will open the preseason against the San Francisco 49ers in the Superdome the week of Aug. 11-15 and will play at home the final weekend of the four-game exhibition schedule. Full article.
Saints begin playoffs against Seattle
The Saints will begin their playoff round on Saturday, January 8 at 3:30 p.m. against the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are the first team in NFL history to win a division title with a losing record and claimed a place as the number 4 seed by beating the St. Louis Rams. Full article.
