NFL commissioner Roger Goodell showed how serious he is about ridding the NFL of bounty systems when he announced the punishments levied against the Saints organization as a result of the New Orleans bounty system.

The penalties were severe, ranging from a one-year suspension for head coach Sean Payton, an indefinite suspension for former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, an eight-game ban for general manager Mickey Loomis and a six-game ban for assistant coach Joe Vitt. The Saints also lost two years of second-round draft picks and have to pay a $500,000 fine to the league.

The repercussions of those penalties are hitting the New Orleans area hard.

In an interview with NFL Network’s Jay Glazer, Payton said he was stunned by the severity of the punishment and told Glazer “I’m not OK.”

Quarterback Drew Brees (@drewbrees) shared his reaction on Twitter, saying, I am speechless. Sean Payton is a great man, coach, and mentor. The best there is. I need to hear and explanation for this.

Punter Thomas Morstead (@thomasmorstead) also reacted via Twitter. This is unbelievable!!! Feels like I just got punched in the gut, Morestead wrote. A few hours later, Morstead added, This will make for a great story when we win it all this year… Coming back strong…Again! #whodat #Saints

Linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar (@JDunbar56) tweeted, Can we all say #excessive. Read the rest of this entry »

Drew Brees

The Saints and quarterback Drew Brees are still far apart in negotiations on a long-term contract, according to a report from ESPN.

If the two sides cannot agree upon a deal by Monday, the Saints would have to use their franchise tag on Brees. That’s something they likely want to avoid because two other key cogs in their offensive machine, wide receiver Marques Colston and Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks, are free agents.

Brees, who set NFL single-season records in passing yards, completions, and completion percentage last season, sounded optimistic last week in a report from the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll get a deal done,” Brees said. “I think there’s been progress made. But just like everything it’s a process. It takes time. It’s not something that happens overnight.”

Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

THURSDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA: Celtics at Magic, 8 p.m. (CSNNE, TNT; WEEI)
NBA: Grizzlies at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: Boston College at Virginia, 9 p.m. (ESPNU; WRKO)
College basketball: NC State at North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Indiana at Wisconsin, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
NHL: All-Star draft, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)

AROUND THE WEB:

Tom Brady continues to have success on and off the field. (AP)

♦ Bloomberg Businessweek released its annual list of the “Power 100″ athletes — comprising on- and off-field attributes — and Tom Brady ranks third. The Patriots quarterback is behind two other NFL quarterbacks: Drew Brees and runner-up Aaron Rodgers. Brady, whose key sponsors include Under Armour, Audi, Ugg and Stetson Cologne, was fifth last year.

Brady’s counterpart in the Super Bowl, Giants QB Eli Manning, is 15th. The next Boston athlete on the list is Celtics big man Kevin Garnett, at No. 54 (seven spot down from last year). Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski checks in at No. 77, and Wes Welker is No. 95.

♦ Forbes has its list of the most valuable NBA teams, and the Lakers have taken the No. 1 spot from the Knicks. A 20-year television deal with Time Warner Cable that averages $200 million a year helped boost the team’s value to $900 million. The Lakers are followed by the Knicks ($780 million), Bulls ($600 million) and Mavericks ($497 million).

At No. 6 is the Celtics, who also signed a new media deal last year. The C’s extended their agreement with CSNNE 20 years through 2038 and got a 20 percent equity stake in the network. That boosts the team’s value to $482 million, up 7 percent from last year.

♦ Lightning fans are campaigning to save the job of the woman who dressed as the team mascot, Thunderbug. Kelly Frank was fired after an incident with a Bruins fan during a game last week (video below). She sprayed Silly String on the B’s fan’s head. He got mad, pushed the mascot and had to be restrained.

The team said the incident wasn’t the only reason for the dismissal but refused to divulge any more information.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Frank also once performed as the Rays mascot, Raymond, but was fired at the end of the 2008 season.

♦ The NFL will suspend its policy against players tweeting within 90 minutes of games and will provide a computer station on the sideline for players to tweet from the Pro Bowl this weekend.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Jan. 26, 1997, the Patriots lost to the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, 35-21. Who was the Patriots’ leading receiver, with six catches for 67 yards and one touchdown?

Read the rest of this entry »

Saints quarterback Drew Brees got everyone’s hopes up about the NFL lockout with his comments to a San Diego radio station, saying “We’re very close to a settlement. We’re at that point in the negotiations where there’s just a few more details to be ironed out.”

But if a report by Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports is to be believed, then Brees is way off.

An anonymous NFLPA executive committee member told Silver “Are we close? I wouldn’t say that at all. … Drew is the eternal optimist, and yeah, it’s closer than it was a week ago. Could it happen quickly? Yes. But I’d be extremely surprised.”

Another source who attended the negotiations between the owners and the players said that Brees’s comments caught the attention of some on the owners’ side. One person said of Brees’s statements, “What the hell was that?”

Silver reports that the two sides still have to work out the exact breakdown on how much of the league’s revenue each side will receive as well as details on a rookie wage scale, a “legacy fund” for retirees, health care among several other issues.

During the 1987 NFL players strike, several star quarterbacks weakened the players’ union by breaking ranks and signing licensing deals with the league. This year, it looks like the union is getting plenty of support from the league’s top stars.

Peyton Manning and Drew Brees were among several players who attended a negotiating session between the league and the union Sunday, according to ESPN.com. Sources told the site that “their presence was considered symbolic, at the very least.” Tom Brady has also been an outspoken representative of the union.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called the two-hour meeting “beneficial” and said, “It’s always a positive when both sides are talking.”

Sports Illustrated announced Tuesday morning that Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been named Sportsman of the Year for his championship on the field and his charity off of it. Brees becomes the award’s 57th recipient after leading the long-suffering Saints to their first Super Bowl title and helping aid the rebirth of the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Brees will be recognized at a ceremony in New York on Tuesday. He is the fifth NFL quarterback to be honored, and third in six years. The Steelers’ Terry Bradshaw won in 1979, 49ers’ Joe Montana in 1990, Patriots’ Tom Brady in 2005 and the Packers’ Brett Favre in 2007.

Carolina cannot get a break with injuries. The Panthers lost quarterback Matt Moore against the Saints on Sunday with a shoulder injury. Moore was sacked by Sedrick Ellis, bringing the quarterback down hard on his shoulder. Rookie Jimmy Clausen filled in for Moore and the return of Moore is questionable at this point in the game.

Running back Jonathan Stewart already left the game with a head injury and his return is questionable as well.

New Orleans also lost tight end Jeremy Shockey to a rib injury in the first half. Shockey caught a 7-yard pass from Drew Brees and was hit by Charles Godfrey. Shockey walked to the locker room under his own power and his current return is questionable. The touchdown reception was the 500^th catch of Shockey’s nine-year NFL career. Shockey entered the game with 30 receptions for 307 yards and two touchdowns.

Atlanta center Todd McClure left the field in the second quarter of the Falcons’ game against Tampa Bay with a knee injury. McClure has made a franchise-record 136 consecutive starts for the Falcons over his 12-year tenure with the team. This comes after receiver Roddy White left the game with a right knee injury. White returned to the game after his injury briefly until he was taken to the locker room by a team doctor in the first half. However, White has returned back to the game and has three receptions for 27 yards.

Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who was fined $75,000 just a few weeks ago for a hit on Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, was handed another fine by the NFL this week, this time $20,000, after a late hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees in Sunday night’s game in New Orleans, ESPN.com reports.

Harrison, who contemplated retirement after the NFL implemented its new policy change on hard hits, has been fined a total of $100,000 this season for hard or late hits. The latest fine was given to Harrison just two days after he met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in New York , a meeting in which he said was “semi-productive.”

Harrison’s first fine this season stemmed from a hard hit on Titans quarterback Vince Young in a game on Sept. 19.

Mike Singletary is annoyed but confident. Check out the 49ers coach’s quote from the video: “We will not try to stop Drew Brees. We will stop Drew Brees.”

“Hat tip to Hot Clicks”

Before the New Orleans Saints were the darlings of the NFL, they were known as the Aints due to their consistent lack of success. The Superdome will be rocking as Sunday brings the chance to wipe away decades of futility and take New Orleans off the list of NFL teams that have never appeared in a Super Bowl. But before that, lets take a look back at when the Saints were more Detroit Lions than Super Bowl contender.

1970

The highlight of the Saints’ first post-merger season came in Week 8. New Saints coach J.D. Roberts took over for a 1-5-1 squad and found his team trailing 17-16 in the final seconds. Out trotted kicker Tom Dempsey to try to win the game — with a 63-yard field goal.

What made the NFL-record kick even more remarkable is that Dempsey was born without half of his right foot. Yes, the foot he kicked with. He wore a modified shoe to help solve the problem. Of course, the Saints went on to finish the season 2-11-1. The only team to finish with a worse record? The Boston Patriots (2-12).

1979

The Saints’ first non-losing season — at 8-8. New Orleans actually had a chance to make the postseason but lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 29-14, in their last game of the season. The win made the Rams NFC West champions and propelled them to a postseason run that ended with a Super Bowl appearance.

1980

And the “Aints” are born! New Orleans starts the season 0-12 and loses to the Patriots in its final game of the season, finishing 1-15, the worst record in a 16-game season until the Lions’ winless season in 2008. Local sports radio host Buddy Diliberto was credited with coining the new nickname and also a new tradition: the paper bag head.

1987-88

Thanks to the motivation of coach Jim Mora, the Saints reach the playoffs for the first time in a season shortened by one game due to a player strike. New Orleans even went 2-1 with replacement players, thanks to quarterback and Big Easy native John Fourcade. After a Week 6 loss to San Francisco in the first game after the end of the strike, a classic Mora rant spurred a nine-game win streak.

Of course, the Saints celebrated their first playoff appearance by getting pasted, 44-10, by the Minnesota Vikings.

1995

The Saints finish 7-9, behind the expansion Carolina Panthers due to tiebreaker rules. That Carolina team’s leading rusher? Derrick Moore. Receiver? Mark Carrier. But they DID have Kerry Collins.

1998-99

The second year of the Mike Ditka era did not go over well. Collins? He was signed off waivers to play QB, and his DUI arrest was the lowlight of a 6-10 season. Of course, Ditka had a plan to fix his team: Draft Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams. Ditka traded all six of his team’s picks in the 1999 draft, along with first- and third-round picks in the 2000 draft (which became the second and 64th picks overall) for the Washington Redskins’ fifth pick, which he used on Williams.

The match wasn’t made in heaven, however. Despite Ditka’s prediction of a Super Bowl win, the Saints were 3-13 in Williams’ rookie season and Ditka was fired.

2000

Under new head coach Jim Haslett, the Saints win their first-ever playoff game, against the St. Louis Rams — the defending Super Bowl champions. The Saints jump out to a 31-7 lead thanks to quarterback Aaron Brooks and hold on for a 31-28 decision.

2005

The chaos of Hurricane Katrina sends the Saints reeling. Forced to house their team in San Antonio and play their first “home” game of the season at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, the Saints finish with the worst record in the NFC.

2006

Led by new coach Sean Payton and free agent signee Drew Brees, the Saints go from 3-13 to the NFC championship game, starting the turnaround to a contender. Of course, the Saints lose 39-14 to the Chicago Bears, arguably one of the worst teams to make the Super Bowl ever.

But after starting 13-0 and crushing the Arizona Cardinals last week, the Saints are on the cusp of greatness. After almost 40 years of futility, New Orleans could finally be turning its fortunes around — though the Vikings will have something to say about that.