Saints ticket sales going well; Feds to chip in for Superdome repairs; All for naught?

In my first update to this site in a month (if anyone's still reading!), it's great to see that Saints season ticket sales are doing well and earning praises from the front office brass.

I also thought it was interesting to see the US government will be contributing $91 million to the reconstruction costs of the Superdome. I'm probably behind the ball on both of these positive developments.

Of course, just as things are starting to take a positive turn, the NFL labor dispute is rearing its ugly head. It was slightly encouraging to see the Thursday deadline pushed back to Sunday night. Will the owners and NFLPA be able to reach an agreement, or will they decapitate the golden goose that has made the NFL the success it is? This situation, especially the revenue sharing issue, will impact the Saints' situation more than anything else at this point.

That gorilla in a china closet aside, there are a couple of things I can see the team doing in coming weeks:
(a) I think the team will cut, among others, Aaron Brooks. This is because I'm pretty sure they'll be taking a QB in the draft.
(b) Unless he screws up, Matt Leinart is going to be a big-money NFL ad guy. Having said that, I'm not so sure the Saints will take him at No. 2. I could see them picking Jay Cutler because of the hype that has enveloped him, and because it could cost the team less to sign him than it would for Leinart. I somehow see Leinart getting reunited with Norm Chow, and joining another coach with USC ties in Jeff Fisher, in Tennessee. Just a hunch.

In the meantime, let's all just watch whether the NFL powers-that-be will come to their senses or not in this labor debacle.

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Got a comment? Email me at saintsdoggle@yahoo.com.