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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year today. Drew was a great choice. All he did was re-write the Saints’ record books this season. He became just the second player in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season and he had a team-record and league-leading 34 touchdown passes. Naturally, he spoke of team first:

“I don’t come out from week to week and say I have to throw for 300 (yards). I don’t think about that. It’s really about what I can do to help this team win. Certainly in this offense, being the quarterback, you’re in the driver’s seat. You have the opportunity to control every play and have it in your hands. Every play is about me making good decisions and putting it in a guy’s hands who is open or our playmakers working to their strengths. That’s my job.”

This choice is a little odd considering Drew didn’t get one MVP vote, but he deserves the award. It seems like Drew gets a little better each season. His 5,069 yards passing this season came up just 15 yards short of the all-time record held by Dan Marino. Even if the Saints didn’t make the playoffs, that is called having one heck of a season, especially when you consider the number of injuries the Saints had on the offensive side of the ball (Marques Colston, Reggie Bush, Jerome Shockey). Drew finished with 22 votes. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson had nine votes each. Philip Rivers had six votes.

Sources: NewOrleansSaints.com, NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Drew Brees Offensive Player of the Year

Fans of the National Football League across the pond are disappointed tonight. New Orleans Saints running back and kick returner Reggie Bush will not travel with the Saints to London to play against the San Diego Chargers in next weekend’s NFL International Series game. Reggie injured the meniscus in his left knee and will require surgery. The estimated recovery time is 3-4 weeks but the exact range will not be known until doctors perform the operation tomorrow. Quarterback Drew Brees was understandably upset:

“Of course it’s tough. He’s a big-time playmaker. We’re going to miss him, and I hope he’s not out very long.”

Just when the Saints were starting to get healthy, they fall completely flat against division rival Carolina (a 30-7 thumping) today and lose arguably their most talented and electrifying player in the process. Now two games behind the Panthers and Tampa Bay Bucs in the NFC South, the Saints will have no choice but to win without Reggie Bush.

Source: NFL.com Wire Report

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Reggie Bush Needs Knee Surgery

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

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

Bad news for New Orleans Saints receiver Marques Colston. He had surgery on his left thumb yesterday and will be out 4-6 weeks. Marques tore a ligament after taking a helmet-first hit to his hands from Tampa Bay Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber last Sunday. Head coach Sean Payton assessed the damage to his top receiver:

“He has a left thumb that he had a procedure done on yesterday. It’s a ligament in his left thumb and basically the surgery was to stabilize the thumb. It’s going to take some time. He had that done yesterday. It’s going to take him a while, a few weeks. By week’s end, he’ll be listed as out in this game. The surgery allows him to stabilize it. He had it done before with his right hand back in college, and weighing the options, it was definitely the best option for us and for Marques to get this done now and get it repaired the right way.”

This is a huge blow to the Saints offense. They had a “Big 4″ going with quarterback Drew Brees, running back Reggie Bush, tight end Jeremy Shockey and Marques. But it will be the rest of the receiving corps that will have to pick up the slack in Marques’ absence — David Patten, Devery Henderson, Terrance Cooper, Lance Moore and Robert Meacham.

Source: NewOrleansSaints.com

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Marques Colston Out 4-6 Weeks

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

The N.Y. Giants traded disgruntled tight end Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints today for second and fifth round picks in next year’s NFL Draft. I expected this trade to happen back in April, so it’s really no surprise the deal finally went down. It’s just a couple months later than I envisioned.

The Giants proved they could win without Jeremy last season as they steamrolled through the playoffs while he watched from the sidelines on crutches. His displeasure with his contract and affinity for stirring the pot in New York made him expendable. Now the Giants just need to make sure Kevin Boss stays healthy. I felt Jeremy made the Giants better right now and gave them a luxury at the tight end position, but obviously the team felt he was doing more harm than good.

I think both the Giants and Saints win in this trade. The Giants get rid of a potential distraction while the Saints get a four-time Pro Bowler and emotional, talented playmaker. Along with Reggie Bush and Marcus Colston, suddenly the Saints have a plethora of weapons for QB Drew Brees to play with. Jeremy will also be reunited with Saints head coach Sean Payton where he was the NFL’s Rookie-of-the-Year (74 receptions, 894 yards) when Coach Payton was his offensive coordinator in 2002.

Source: NY Times, Photo: Newscom

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Giants Trade Jeremy Shockey to Saints

The first 40,000 tickets that were made available for the NFL’s second overseas regular-season game on October 26 at Wembley Stadium in London, England between the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints sold today in 90 minutes. The tickets were available to fans who were randomly selected from an overwhelming number of registered ticket requests. Today’s sales at Ticketmaster matched the pace at which tickets were bought for last year’s game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants. Because of the demand for tickets, the NFL has released an additional 5,000 tickets to go on sale immediately. There has also been an increase in the number of tickets that will be offered in the second sale of tickets to fans who registered in February when the game was first announced.

Last year’s Wembley game was such a huge success that the NFL has committed to playing at least one game in the UK for each of the next three seasons, beginning with this year’s matchup of teams who have each come within one game of reaching the Super Bowl in the past two seasons. The Saints’ Reggie Bush and the Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson are scheduled to make a promotional visit to London next month.

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NFL International: 40K Tickets in 90 Minutes

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EA Sports revealed Madden NFL 08 at an Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference today in Santa Monica, CA. E3, an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association, begins tomorrow and runs through Saturday. It is only open to game industry professionals, journalists, and guests of exhibitors. Madden NFL 08 will be in-stores August 14.

NOTE: If you have any trouble with the embedded player, just click here.

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Madden NFL 08 Revealed at E3 Presser

This summer’s hottest premiere won’t be the new Transformers movie next week. It will take place on the soccer field when international star David Beckham makes his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy in July.

OK, that’s what adidas would have us believe. Personally, I could care less. I mean, David Beckham is making an unbelievable $250 million over five years. That got my attention. But I would rather watch paint dry than watch soccer. That’s just me. As his arrival in the U.S. nears, the debate on futbol vs. football is being fueled by New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush who is swapping the pigskin for a soccer ball in an adidas promo. Reggie traveled to Madrid to show off some of his fancy footwork and teach Beckham a few things about sports culture in the U.S. as an official welcome to the American sports scene.

BECKHAM: Since I signed with the Galaxy, you know every time I do an interview, I’m trying to get myself to say soccer because I’ve always said futbol.

BUSH: And when you think about our sport we call football, it would seem like [soccer] would be the sport you actually call football because you’re kicking it with your foot, so it makes sense. We call [American football] football, but we actually throw it a lot more than we kick it.

Both athletes showed off their baller skills and challenged each other to tackle their respective sports. Beckham attempted a record-breaking field goal with Reggie as his placeholder and Reggie attempted to “Bend it like Beckham” as he practiced free kicks. Never-before-seen footage of this meeting is available for viewing at www.futbolmeetsfootball.com. Check it out. To build momentum for Beckham’s U.S. arrival, adidas brought these two star athletes together to embody the world’s most popular and entertaining sports through two of its biggest stars.

Major League Soccer in America is poised for tremendous growth. I know it’s a popular sport, but I was stunned to learn that more than 140 million Americans tuned-in for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany (I was not one of them), compared to the 90 million Americans who watched Super Bowl XLI (I was one of them). As the most recognizable soccer player in the world enters the U.S. playing field, the stage is set for fan growth. I understand this. Whether soccer can garner the attention of sports fans in the States long-term, however, will probably depend on how it can compete with America’s most popular sport — football. Beckham said:

“I’ve never been to an [American football] game. I want to. Because every time I’ve seen the Super Bowl or something like that, it’s so passionate. Everyone -– the fans, the players –- seems so passionate about it.”

David Beckham will help increase the popularity of soccer in the U.S., but not to the level of professional football. I can’t imagine that fans will support an entire season of action the way they did the World Cup last year. Over the course of a full season, fans will support the NFL more than they will MLS. In fact, how many of you were even aware that an MLS season was underway right now? I had no idea. The Galaxy are 2-5-3 after 10 games.

Beckham will be noticed here. However, getting the United States to open up to a sport which has been trying now for at least 30 years, from the time of Pelé, to dethrone professional football, is too much to ask. It could be another 20 years before soccer becomes a regular on TV across the nation. They’re currently playing regular season games on ESPN2 and FSN. Sorry, futbol.

Beckham is scheduled to begin his season with the Galaxy this July, while Reggie Bush arrives at training camp for his second year with the Saints shortly thereafter. Before reporting, Reggie has promised to attend Beckham’s first Galaxy match in Los Angeles.

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With Beckham’s Arrival, Will MLS Challenge the NFL as America’s Favorite Sport?