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Here’s some good advice: Don’t kick the ball to Reggie Bush. New Orleans Saints running back/punt returner Reggie Bush electrified 70,000+ Louisiana Superdome patrons and tied an NFL record by returning two punts (71 and 64 yards) for touchdowns in last night’s Monday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings. ESPN had him clocked at over 20 mph on both returns. The only problem? It wasn’t enough to overcome four turnovers and 11 penalties in a 30-27 loss to the Vikes.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Reggie Bush Ties NFL Record

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In a follow-up to my previous post about the Louisiana Superdome surviving Hurricane Gustav, the New Orleans Saints will, in fact, return to the city and host their season/home opener this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Bucs. Saints owner Tom Benson released the following statement today:

“There were a number of critical issues that needed to be addressed before we could make this announcement. We have been assured by Superdome officials that the stadium is ready to host our fans and our team for a sold out game this Sunday and we have been assured by our political leaders that we have their support in making this happen. Our number one priority was making sure that the people of our community were safe during the storm and are now able to return safely. There is a critical re-entry process that we all must follow and we must do that as efficiently as possible. We will once again showcase to a national audience that the city of New Orleans is made up of resilient people and that we are ready to stand our city back up as quickly as possible, put this storm behind us and move on with our lives.”

The team will return to New Orleans on Friday afternoon and will practice the remainder of the week at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Source: NewOrleansSaints.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Saints Will Play at Home Sunday

The Louisiana Superdome (home to the New Orleans Saints, of course) is reportedly in good shape after Hurricane Gustav ripped through the Gulf Coast region yesterday. Doug Thornton, vice president of the company that manages the Superdome, said:

“We’ve got some exterior signs ripped and things like that, downed fences and light poles blown over, but nothing major, nothing structural or nothing that would affect the interior condition of the building. Just based on my gut right now, all of it looks pretty positive. But again, we don’t have a full report on damage out in the community and how long it may take to restore power and all those things that may influence the decision.”

The Saints remain in Indianapolis were they are preparing for the season/home opener against Tampa. According to Saints Executive VP/General Manager Mickey Loomis, the plan is to fly back to New Orleans Friday for the standard day before walk-through on Saturday. But there’s certainly not enough information at this point to confirm that will even be possible. At this point, though, it’s looking pretty good.

Source: NewOrleansSaints.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Superdome Survives Hurricane Gustav

With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the Gulf Coast (three years after Katrina swamped New Orleans), the New Orleans Saints left for Indianapolis today, where they will spend the week preparing for their September 7 season/home opener against Tampa Bay. The Saints will practice at the Colts new Lucas Oil Stadium. The game against the Bucs is scheduled at the Louisiana Superdome, and the Saints plan to be there for it unless damage from Gustav dictates otherwise. The storm could hit the mainland as early as Monday, and today it was on the verge of the strongest classification of Category 5, with winds above 155 mph. This is certainly a wait and see story, but at least the city is taking the proper precautions to prevent a repeat of Katrina’s catastrophe.

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New Orleans Evacuates, Saints Leave Town