Saints on in L.A. for third week out of four

Well, if the conspiracy is that the league is trying to build interest for the Saints in the Los Angeles market, the television broadcasts are helping support the theory.

For the third week out of four, viewers in Los Angeles will be watching the Saints.

Almost as if they were L.A.'s home team.

In week one, the FOX affiliate there, KTTV, showed the Saints-Browns season opener. But in week two, KTTV opted to show the Giants-Eagles game instead of the Saints-Packers matchup. But it was the only affiliate in the country that had the option between those two games.

Then, in week three, the entire country (L.A. included, of course) watched the Saints on ESPN's Monday Night Football.

Now, in week four, it's Saints versus Panthers - and it's on in L.A. on KTTV.

Here's a map, courtesy of gribblenation.com, showing the television markets for the FOX game this Sunday:

Notice that the California-based San Francisco 49ers are playing a game at the same time as the Saints. So are the nearby Arizona Cardinals (and former USC QB Matt Leinart). Yet the Saints somehow get top billing in southern California.

I guess the fans there get to see Trojan hero Reggie Bush nearly every week - and maybe that's all that should be read into this.

But what if it's the NFL trying to help start establishing a fan base for the city's future franchise?

For the record, I don't think the Saints will be moving away from New Orleans until 2010, unless something goes drastically wrong over the next several months. But if they do leave, they are going to L.A., not San Antonio. The NFL would have it that way.

Forgive me for what may seem like paranoia, but we need to stay as aware as possible of the ongoings outside of New Orleans to ensure the Saints remain IN New Orleans, where they belong.

To be continued...

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Email me at saintsdoggle@yahoo.com.