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UPDATE: This post was by me, Brendan, not by a guestblogger; I was just testing the guestblogger upload feature. I was going to delete it, but since it’s already gotten a few comments, I guess I’ll leave it up. :) The photo, of course, is of my PMBR bar-prep CDs (turned upside down).

Not sure if they don’t want the bad press, but SI.com has beaten ESPN.com to a couple of big stories involving ESPN personalities. First, college football analyst Trev Alberts was fired on Sunday after he failed to show up for work at ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Conn. Then, Adrian Karsten, a former college football sideline reporter for ESPN, was found dead at his home just before reporting to federal prison for tax evasion.

During Monday night’s Florida State-Miami game on ABC, Ted Koppel reported that there was a strong possibility that the Superdome would be demolished. I haven’t found anything on the wires to back up that report, but needless to say, if it is true it would be huge news. We all know that the Superdome was damaged during Katrina and was also the home to nightmarish acts which ran the gamut from murder to rape while people were trying to find shelter there, but the Superdome will most likely be remembered as one of this country’s most famous stadiums.

In addition to being the home of the Saints the Superdome has housed more Super Bowls than any other sports facility (1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, and 2002). The Superdome also hosts the Sugar Bowl (home to college football’s national championship game every four years), the New Orleans Bowl, Tulane University college football home games, and the Bayou Classic football game between Grambling State and Southern University. It has also hosted several NCAA college basketball Final Fours (1982, 1987, 1993, and 2003).

These events, along with hundreds of trade shows, concerts and other events which took place at the Superdome brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to New Orleans, which will obviously be in desperate need of funds in the aftermath of Katrina. Where this money will now come from, how and when a new stadium will be built and whether or not they will be able to reclaim any of the teams and events they will lose if the Superdome is indeed torn down are questions that probably won’t be answered for some time.

While sports are certainly not in the forefront of anyone’s thoughts at this time, it can sometimes be a relief for many so with that here’s some breaking sports news from New Orleans:

The Saints are currently trying to figure out where they will play their “home” games this season. One thought is to play them all on the road as they will do on Sept. 19 when they play the New York Giants at Giants Stadium instead of the Superdome. The game will be apart of a Monday Night doubleheader to be viewed on ABC.

After that “home opener” there is speculation that the Saints will play the rest of their games in San Antonio. There has even been strong speculation that Saints owner Tom Benson is leaning strongly toward moving the Saints permanently to San Antonio. Such news of course couldn’t come at a worse time for the people of New Orleans who don’t need to be thinking about losing their pro football team after everything they have already lost this past week. Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette summed it up best by saying , “This is like pouring salt into the wound…Give us time.”

In college football, the No. 5 LSU Tigers will open up their season against No. 20 Arizona State in Tempe instead of Baton Rouge this Saturday. “We don’t want to interfere with the recovery effort in any way,” LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said Monday.

Alan Broussard, Jefferson Parish President, is already planning the cleanup effort. He’s calling it “Operation Lockdown.” They are trying to crackdown on the widespread looting in the area. Those arrested will be put in jail, though it is
unclear which jail that might be.

Of his plan, he says, “It is like a ghost town out there. That is the way we want it. If I can keep it a ghost town for the next five days, the looters will stand out and shine like a bright light.”

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