MIAMI -- Peyton Manning? Intercepted. Brett Favre, too. Louisiana native Tracy Porter finished the season by making two of the biggest interceptions in the history of the team he grew up rooting for: the New Orleans Saints. Now they're the Super Bowl champion Saints, thanks in no small part to the second-year pro who grew up in Port Allen, just across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge.

One bad pass by Peyton Manning hasn't cost the Indianapolis Colts any cachet. Manning and the Colts are favored to win next year's Super Bowl, according to odds released Monday by BetUS.com. Indianapolis is a 7-1 favorite to take home the NFL championship, followed by the Chargers (8-1), Saints (9-1) and the Patriots (10-1).
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MVP Brees delivers title to New Orleans (AP)

Drew Brees grew up in Texas and started playing for pay in faraway San Diego. But he made New Orleans his home and its cause uniquely his own. After 43 years of futility and one of the finest quarterbacking performances ever delivered in a Super Bowl, he made sure there's no need to ask "Who dat?" anymore.
Posted: 02/07/2010 Sports News / NFL FootBall predictions / picks / analysis articles Provided by:
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Saints fans greet team at airport (AP)

Jubilant fans greeted the Super Bowl-winning Saints Monday, showering them with "Who Dat!" chants as they returned to their home city as champions. At a suburban airport, thousands of fans decked in black-and-gold lined the road to cheer their team after its 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
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Brees, Payton bask in glory of title (AP)

Clearly exhausted from a late night of post-Super Bowl celebrations, Sean Payton leaned on a podium Monday morning, clutching the Vince Lombardi trophy in his right hand. "You can't get enough of this," the Saints' head coach said at a news conference at the Fort Lauderdale convention center.
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What You're Missing In Miami

Miami is of course the place to be this week, with locals and visitors taking advantage of the sun and fun before tonight’s spectacle. Unlike our own Mr. Ape we are unable to experience the scene first hand, so instead here’s a brief photo tour of goings on in south Florida. Apparently they couldn’t find the beach. Come on, gays. You’re going to have to wear a lot less to turn heads in that crowd. Marisa Miller spent most of her week making quarterbacks feel uncomfortable in the pants. Eli later filled an entire shopping cart with Axe products. GAH! Back to Indianapolis with you! And put on some sweatpants. The baggy kind. Images via Yahoo!
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PFT: Jets owner stands by Ryan fine

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Goodell says salaries will keep growing (AP)

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell predicts players' salaries will still grow under a new labor agreement, even if their share of revenue is reduced as owners have proposed. Appearing Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation" hours before the Super Bowl, Goodell said the owners need more money to cover rising costs for international ventures and infrastructure projects such as new stadiums.
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Super Bowl XLIV: Predictions

Our experts -- Pete Prisco, Clark Judge, Gregg Doyel, Mike Freeman, John Oehser and Larry Holder -- make their predictions for Super Bowl XLIV (Saints-Colts, 6:25 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS).
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Special Pre-Super Bowl XLIV Audibles

In a special pre-Audibles, the gang asks the following questions: How will the Colts fare against New Orleans' mystery fronts, what is Indy's mantra of success, and why do people keep forgetting how good Drew Brees really is? read more
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Video: Brees lends inspiration

Drew Brees provides inspiration to Micah Roshell, a boy in New Orleans battening Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
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Wind could be a factor

MIAMI -- There is a pretty good breeze at Sun Life Stadium. The flags I see ringing the stadium are flapping pretty good, as are the ones atop the four goalposts. We’ve got a good while until kickoff, but I think it could be a factor for Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. Weather Underground says the wind is 15 mph with gusts up to 24. Kings of Leon’s Sex on Fire playing right now on the stadium loudspeakers. Makes me feel at home. Shoutout to the boys from just outside Nashville.
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Site Editor Matt Loede?s Super Bowl XLIV Pick: Colts in a Thriller

Yes, it’s finally here. It might as well be a holiday for football fans, as that’s how we treat it. Today the Colts and Saints wrap up what has been a memorable 2009 NFL season in the biggest game of the year – the Super Bowl. The hype is all but over, [...]
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Come chat with us in a few hours

MIAMI -- As you can see from the award-winning photograph in the post below, we ESPN.com bloggers arrived at Sun Life Stadium with a few minutes to spare before Super Bowl XLIV. The primary purpose of posting the shot is to rub it in for those of you who are snowbound or otherwise stuck in weather that is at least somewhat less ideal than what we’ve got here. (Sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60’s.) A few words about the plan for today. I’ll pop on the blog as warranted during the afternoon, and then at 5:30 p.m. ET I’ll be moving over to our NFL Nation Live in-game chat thingee. Please join me there. I’m expecting to write a New Orleans-themed post after the game, which will naturally show up here on the NFC North blog. Starting Monday we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming.
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Aside from Saints, strong NFC South flavor

MIAMI -- Already, there’s an NFC South flavor to the Super Bowl and we’re not even talking about the New Orleans Saints yet. One thing I’ve tried to do this week is give you a bit of a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how things work at the biggest show in sports. The Saints may be the only NFC South team playing in this game, but the other three franchises have people working the game. Just a few minutes ago, I had the opportunity to run into Charlie Dayton, the dean of NFC South public relations directors, and several branches of his version of the Bill Walsh coaching tree. Dayton, who has been with the Carolina Panthers since before they played their first time, spent a little time catching up with me and Ted Crews, who, as best anyone can figure, is the only P.R. director to endure two 1-15 seasons. Crews joined the St. Louis Rams as the main man last season after spending his career with the Panthers and Falcons. Crews said the Rams’ season wasn’t nearly as miserable as the 1-15 season the Panthers endured under George Seifert in 2001. In that season, there was no hope for Carolina fans and a coaching legend fell apart. At least the Rams are young and have room to grow. Also in the media room is DeeDee Mills, who has worked for the Panthers since the start. She, Dayton and Crews will be helping the media throughout the day and night. The Atlanta Falcons also have Brian Cearns here and I’ve seen an intern from the Buccaneers helping out. There’s another behind-the-scenes NFL connection to this game: That’s Carolina’s Brandon Beane, who basically handles all travel and logistical issues for the Panthers. Beane was brought in by the league to help out with logistics throughout the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. Some other NFC South dignitaries I've run into throughout the week include Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-chairman Bryan Glazer, current ESPN broadcaster and former Carolina and Tampa Bay receiver Keyshawn Johnson and current ESPN broadcaster and former Tampa Bay quarterback Trent Dilfer. Atlanta coach and Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff also have been making the rounds.
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Ratto: Labor battle really owner vs. owner

The players will be asked to pay the price, but the real war in talks for the NFL's next labor deal will be between the filthy rich owners and the simply rich guys, Ray Ratto says.
Posted: 02/05/2010 Sports News / NFL FootBall predictions / picks / analysis articles Provided by:
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Buffalo Bills hire Doug to be assistant GM, source says

The Buffalo Bills have hired Doug Whaley as their assistant general manager, a source has confirmed to ESPN.com.
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NPR Interview With Brian Billick

Thanks to Pete for passing along this interesting interview with Brian Billick from NPR. He's also hyping his book from Scribner, More Than A Game, which features some data from FO.
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Carter, Dent, Randle and the HOF

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- There appear to be only two locks this year for the 2010 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, set to be announced Saturday. Based on informal conversations during this Super Bowl hype week, there is little doubt that receiver Jerry Rice and running back Emmitt Smith will get elected. By definition, that means the three finalists with NFC North ties are on the bubble. So with a little more than 24 hours left until the 5 p.m. ET (Saturday) announcement, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each player’s candidacy. In alphabetical order: Cris Carter Key qualification: When he retired after the 2002 season, he ranked second on the NFL’s all-time list of receptions (1,101) and touchdowns (130). Working against him: Receivers historically have a tougher time than other positions, and Rice is already a lock. There are currently 20 receivers in the Hall of Fame, less than running backs (25), quarterbacks (23), offensive linemen (34) and defensive linemen (27). Richard Dent Key qualification: When he retired after the 1995 season, his 137.5 sacks ranked third all-time in the NFL, thanks in part to a run of five consecutive seasons with 10 or more sacks. Working against him: From a statistical standpoint, there’s nothing to argue against here. Dent was a Hall of Fame player. In recent years, however, he seems to have fallen victim to competing against other 100-sack players like Fred Dean, Bruce Smith and John Randle. This year, Charles Haley will be added to that list. Sometimes those players cancel each other out in the eyes of some voters. John Randle Key qualification: Had more sacks (131) between the years 1991-2002 than any other NFL player. Working against him: Has the exact career sack total as Dent (137.5), which means he falls in the same category: A player with Hall of Fame sack totals competing against others with similar qualifications. Not everyone gets in.
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How biblical verses fit with blocking sleds

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- In his rookie season as a head coach, Jim Caldwell has said over and over that he believes in self-fulfilling prophecy. He's quoted this Chinese proverb several times: "Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts." This week he also pointed to Proverbs 23:7: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." If one thing is clear about Caldwell -- a serious, guarded and thoughtful man -- it is that he is a spiritual person, unafraid of using biblical messages to help guide his players. Members of his staff are in line with that. “One thing that’s neat about coaching is it makes you walk by faith, it’s not a by-sight thing,” receivers coach Clyde Christensen said. “We could be home next week and I could be unemployed. You just trust. There is a great verse in Exodus that we shared as a staff Tuesday morning: 'God doesn’t take you the most direct route.' “He didn’t take the Israelites the most direct route to the Promised Land because they couldn’t handle it. They needed to develop some character and of course they screwed it up and took 40 years. But he didn’t take them the most direct route.” Hearing Caldwell and Christensen early Wednesday morning, I started to think about how I view the spiritual aspect of the Colts. Certainly the atmosphere Tony Dungy created and Caldwell inherited fosters faith. But it’s not a pushy environment and wouldn’t make someone who might be uninterested in such things uncomfortable. That’s because when Caldwell points out a biblical passage, it typically has undeniable football and life applications. When coachable guys are offered such nuggets, they generally gobble them up. “He’ll tell you it’s all about winning football games,” special-teams coach Ray Rychleski said. “Now he has a certain belief beyond football obviously, but he wants to send a message that helps our football team -- ‘This is how it’s been, this is what can work for us.’ “Everybody makes analogies with things and tries to compare things and that’s his way of doing it and people understand it. Whatever he’s selling, everybody’s buying into it.” Clint Session said he feels like the bulk of the team’s roster is invested in the spiritual and biblical, that Bill Polian even works to find guys who will fit in with it. “Guys that know, ‘Whatever this coach is telling me, it’s for a good reason,’” Session said. “… He comes out some mornings and throws a Bible verse on the board, and you look at it and think, ‘This has so much of a connection to our team and what I deal with throughout life.’ “He’s not only teaching us to be better players, he’s also teaching us to be a man with dignity and pride and integrity. Words we will be able to use throughout football and after football. When you take care of that, it’s going to show on the field.”
Posted: 02/05/2010 Sports News / NFL FootBall predictions / picks / analysis articles Provided by:
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