But the jury's still out for the Cardinals, who were the favorite of many last year, before they actually played a regular season game.
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HOPES HIGH FOR SAINTS & CARDINALS
AS FANS CAN'T WAIT FOR 2006 KICKOFF
The calendar may read May, but it's football season year-round for legions of passionate NFL fans from coast to coast.
And on the heels of an NFL Draft that was watched by a record number of TV viewers, among those most excited for Kickoff 2006 Weekend are fans in America's Gulf Coast region and Arizona. Bring on the season!
After a year of unprecedented challenges, the New Orleans Saints welcome a youthful, energetic new head coach in 42-year old former Dallas Cowboys assistant head coach SEAN PAYTON.
"I hope that in some small way the effort of this team will represent the city and region well and show the country that New Orleans is back and a team to be reckoned with in the NFC South," says Payton.
Sharing that enthusiasm is the club's new quarterback DREW BREES, one of the most sought-after free agents in the league who elected to bring his talent to New Orleans, where he continues his rehabilitation from a shoulder injury.
"I feel great right now and I'm way ahead of schedule," says Brees of his rehabilitation. "I've been throwing for almost five weeks and I'm looking forward to being 100 percent by training camp. I'm just so excited to be a part of this team and this community. New Orleans and the region are very alive, and you have a lot of great citizens who are very committed to rebuilding the city and are excited about Saints football."
That excitement reached a crescendo on draft day on April 29 when the Saints used the No. 2 overall selection on Heisman Trophy-winning running back REGGIE BUSH of USC, one of the most dynamic players in college football history. Bush joins a backfield that includes a two-time All-Star in former Mississippi standout DEUCE MC ALLISTER.
"Everybody is excited," McAllister says. "The highlights of what Reggie has done at USC show that he can really add a dimension to our offense. We have two different games and I think we'll create mismatches for teams defending us."
Adds Bush, "It's a blessing to be here. I think I can do a lot not only for the organization, but the city itself. I can't wait to get started."
That start before the hometown fans will come on Monday, September 25 in a restored Louisiana Superdome against the NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons. The Saints have already broken their season-ticket record with 54,969 sold.
The theme of excitement is echoed approximately 1,300 miles to the west of Louisiana in the Valley of the Sun, where fans of the Arizona Cardinals are thrilled by the prospects ahead for the team. And much like in New Orleans, that excitement was stoked by the signing of a prized free agent – and cemented with a draft class loaded with potential.
"The Cardinals were the right situation for me," says running back EDGERRIN JAMES, who joined the club this spring after seven record-setting seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, sparking a ticket-buying frenzy that helped the Cardinals sell out their season ticket allotment for the season. "The sooner we get going, the better."
The team will "get going" in the brand-new Cardinals Stadium this season. The state-of-the art facility, which will open in August and host Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008, has received global media attention for its innovative design which features the first fully retractable grass surface in North America.
Adding to the high hopes for 2006 was a draft class that includes a pair of USC Trojans in quarterback MATT LEINART and guard DEUCE LUTUI.
"We are really gaining new fans every day," says Cardinals head coach DENNIS GREEN. "We have sold out season tickets and we will have a packed stadium. It's going to be a terrific atmosphere and we are all looking forward to it."
Friday, May 26, 2006
Reggie Bush Pays To Wear Jersey #25 - Darren Rovell, ESPN
I'm not sure Reggie Bush's marketing guy Mike Orenstein is ready to work with the number 25. I gave him the answer; for Bush to have #25 and do a "5 to 25" campaign. I guess he didn't see it!
Bush to wear No. 25 this coming season
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
Reggie Bush will get to wear No. 5 after all. There will just be a "2" in front of it.
Bush's marketing agent, Mike Ornstein, told ESPN.com on Thursday that his client will wear No. 25 next season for the New Orleans Saints.
Bush will get the number from Saints running back Fred McAfee. Ornstein said that rather than directly pay McAfee a fee for the use of the number, Bush will give half the money he had earmarked for charity to McAfee to use for the charity of his choice. Bush has pledged to donate 25 percent of his jersey sales royalties to Hurricane Katrina-related causes.
"We all went and dug into our pockets, and the city is as devastated today as the day it happened," Ornstein said. "And now, everyone has gone on to the next disaster."
To get No. 5, which he wore in high school and college, Bush needed the NFL Competition Committee to change the league's numbering rules. Currently, running backs are allowed only to wear numbers between 20 and 49. Earlier this week, the committee decided not to change the rules.
"Hopefully, they will change the rules next year so that Reggie can go back to wearing his old number," Ornstein said.
The delay of the decision might have hurt sales of Bush jerseys in the weeks since he was chosen second overall in the NFL draft. Eddie White, a vice president at Reebok, which makes the league's jerseys, said Bush's jersey had ranked first in preorders but is now in second place behind Vince Young's No. 10 for the Tennessee Titans. Young, who wore No. 10 at the University of Texas, has had that number with the Titans since draft day.
"It was a bunch of baloney that not having the No. 5 would hurt his sales," White said. "He could have worn any number, as long as we could have sold it that [draft day] Sunday, like we did for Vince Young and A.J. Hawk and Matt Leinart. But because he didn't have anything, he's behind Vince."
Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.rovell@espn3.com.
Bush to wear No. 25 this coming season
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
Reggie Bush will get to wear No. 5 after all. There will just be a "2" in front of it.
Bush's marketing agent, Mike Ornstein, told ESPN.com on Thursday that his client will wear No. 25 next season for the New Orleans Saints.
Bush will get the number from Saints running back Fred McAfee. Ornstein said that rather than directly pay McAfee a fee for the use of the number, Bush will give half the money he had earmarked for charity to McAfee to use for the charity of his choice. Bush has pledged to donate 25 percent of his jersey sales royalties to Hurricane Katrina-related causes.
"We all went and dug into our pockets, and the city is as devastated today as the day it happened," Ornstein said. "And now, everyone has gone on to the next disaster."
To get No. 5, which he wore in high school and college, Bush needed the NFL Competition Committee to change the league's numbering rules. Currently, running backs are allowed only to wear numbers between 20 and 49. Earlier this week, the committee decided not to change the rules.
"Hopefully, they will change the rules next year so that Reggie can go back to wearing his old number," Ornstein said.
The delay of the decision might have hurt sales of Bush jerseys in the weeks since he was chosen second overall in the NFL draft. Eddie White, a vice president at Reebok, which makes the league's jerseys, said Bush's jersey had ranked first in preorders but is now in second place behind Vince Young's No. 10 for the Tennessee Titans. Young, who wore No. 10 at the University of Texas, has had that number with the Titans since draft day.
"It was a bunch of baloney that not having the No. 5 would hurt his sales," White said. "He could have worn any number, as long as we could have sold it that [draft day] Sunday, like we did for Vince Young and A.J. Hawk and Matt Leinart. But because he didn't have anything, he's behind Vince."
Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.rovell@espn3.com.
