All Out Sports

If you think the start of the Winter Olympics snuck up on you – they light the torch Friday evening – then imagine how the people of Vancouver feel. There’s almost no snow in the host city. Organizers have been forced to truck and helicopter some in to make at least one venue skiable.
“I’ve skied on rocks, I’ve skied on ice, I’ve skied in the rain,” U.S. freestyle skier Hannah Kearney told the Associated Press. “This is nothing.”
Hey, if that doesn’t get you in the winter spirit, nothing will.

At least a little humor about a Winter Olympics without the winter has served to remind people that the Olympics are coming. In the States, other than when one figure skater’s goon squad is whacking a rival’s knee, the Winter Games don’t garner the same widespread interest and anticipation as the Summer Olympics.

Vancouver is also dealing with comparisons to the 2008 Games that captured American attention due to both the historic charge by swimmer Michael Phelps and its exotic location in Beijing, China.

Team USA has no Phelps-level star heading into the games – Subway is still featuring him in ads, even though swimming is a summer sport – and while Vancouver is known for its sophistication and beauty, there isn’t a lot of mystery to Canada. The views of brown, snow-less mountains ringing the city probably won’t help.

That said, it’s still the Olympics and it always finds a way to surprise. So here is an American-centric Olympic primer (wind-breaker edition) to get you ready for the return of the torch.

1. No business like (no) snow business.

This story is like the bizarro local weatherman. Usually a hyperventilating “meteorologist” predicts massive snow fall totals when just flurries are likely. Now we get the opposite. A lot of hype about predictions of little snow that in the end will likely mean nothing.
Yes, it’s been unseasonably warm in British Columbia. The predicted high for the Opening Ceremony on Friday is 48 degrees, which means athletes making their way to Vancouver’s BC Place might ditch the fashionable earmuffs. However, local organizers and the International Olympic Committee say there will be no problem hauling in enough snow to make the Cypress Mountain venue ready for competition. It is home to most snowboarding events and mogul skiing.

Alpine skiing events are at no risk in high-elevation Whistler. Expect NBC to show a lot of scenic shots from those pure-white mountains. And if that melts, they can always get “Ice Road Truckers” (why wasn’t that an experimental sport?) to start filming even further north.

2. Will Lindsey Vonn be healthy?

The downhill skier revealed Wednesday that she is suffering from a deep shin bruise suffered during a training run last week in Austria. The heavily hyped 25-year-old, who appeared on both a Sports Illustrated cover and in the swimsuit issue, said she couldn’t guarantee she’d compete at all, let alone win the five golds some of her marketers had hyped as possible.

“I don’t know [what I can do],” Vonn said. “I’ve got to wait until the first training run on Thursday. I’m going to go up there, put my skis on and see how it feels. I may not be able to do the first training run.”

Vonn’s health will be the early story of the Games. The photogenic two-time World Cup champion had received the bulk of the pre-Olympics promotion in the United States. Her greatest challenge before getting injured was tempering expectations that she’d be the winter version of Michael Phelps and sweep golds. Now it’s whether she can get down the hill while her boots apply pressure against a “deep contusion” on the front of her right shin. Vonn described that feeling to NBA as “excruciatingly painful.”

Vonn has dealt with myriad injuries through the years and has promised to do everything she can to compete. The media will follow every detail of not just her final runs, but her early practices. Vonn became the face of these Games over the last couple months. Now it’s all eyes on her shin.

3. Do Americans love figure skating enough to adopt Kim Yu-Na as their own?

For the first time in decades, the U.S. lacks a medal favorite in women’s figure skating, usually the most-watched winter Olympic event. For decades a steady stream of champion Americans – from Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill to Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen – has captured audiences.


Now our two competitors, Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu, are plucky underdogs, not probable medalists. Both will have to lift their performances to contend. And neither has the potential of Kim Yu-Na, a 19-year-old South Korean who has mesmerized audiences around the world with her grace and power.

The question becomes: Will figure skating still be a major draw in the States if it’s a South Korean, not an American, that is performing brilliantly? And will NBC, noted for its pro-American programming, promote the event the same way?

The U.S. does have two skating stars, just not the traditional female singles skater.

Expect the terms “Tanith Belbin” and “pictures” to be the most searched of the Games, as the ice dancer and partner Benjamin Agosto’s quest for gold will receive plenty of camera time. No doubt she’ll dress for the occasion.

Fashion won’t be an issue either for men’s skater Johnny Weir. His ability to cause a stir with wild interviews, outfits and drama is unequaled. Weir has great fun playing with the media (how many adjectives can they use to say something without saying something) and the public, which is both fascinated and befuddled.

He gets everyone to pay attention to a male figure skater, which is his main goal. He’ll again be one of the most-discussed American athletes.
On the ice, Weir will try to make up for the Turin Games, where he blamed his poor long-skate performance on the fact that he missed his bus to the venue. The most disappointing part wasn’t that he failed to medal, but the realization that Johnny Weir rides the bus.

4. Shaun White’s Double Cork


The Flying Tomato and his sport of snowboarding were big winners in Turin, infusing the staid Olympics with a shot of X-Games energy. (After all, how exciting is the biathlon?) White, Gretchen Bleiler and others cashed in on their mainstream appeal.

White now makes millions. That’s produced scorn from some competitors, who hate his wealth and obvious training advantages. Nothing signifies that more than the private $500,000 halfpipe that Red Bull built for him in Colorado and was accessible by helicopter only. It features foam landing spots that White says allowed him to practice tricks that would’ve been too dangerous otherwise.

The big one is the Double Cork, a spinning, double flip that requires between 20 and 25 feet of height. He unveiled it in competition last summer and it’s since been duplicated by a few competitors. This is the big stage, though, and whether he (or others) can land the maneuver with the world watching will deliver drama to a sport that many are still trying to figure out. The potential for a ruinous wreck is tangible.

There have been predictable calls for the IOC to ban the move, which plays right into White, Red Bull and the sport’s hand. Nothing is better for all three than being considered too dangerous for the establishment.

5. Miracle on Ice, the sequel?

It’s been 30 years since a group of big-dreaming American college kids dared to knock off the mighty Russians and then win gold in Lake Placid. They were immediate legends, testaments to the power of teamwork and celebrated in books, a movie and countless television specials.
This year’s Team USA isn’t quite the same loveable bunch of innocent “kids.” Chris Drury, for instance, will make $8 million this year playing for the New York Rangers. However, our NHLers are facing just about as menacing of a foe as the old Red Army, actually two of them.
The Russians (again) and Canada.

Both teams are absolutely stacked with talent and the predicted gold-medal clash between the two nations has the hockey world in full pant. The subplots are outstanding. Canada is led by Sidney Crosby and Russia by Alexander Ovechkin. The two have become bitter rivals in the NHL.
Crosby plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins, where Evgeni Malkin is his co-star. Malkin is Russian and, therefore, will be going against Crosby and playing alongside Ovechkin.

Then there is the duel pressure cooker for the Canadians. First, they need to reclaim gold after failing to medal in Turin. Second, they must defend their native country or live with the indignity forever. Compared to Americans, Canadians don’t get angry about much. Losing the hockey tournament on home soil would count as “much.”
So why shouldn’t Team USA come along and ruin the party? In Ryan Miller, it has the best goaltender in the tournament and the 2010 answer to Jim Craig. In front, there are young goal scorers and plenty of grinders. No, this wouldn’t be a “Miracle” – our pros beat your pros isn’t quite the same.

It would be a big, satisfying upset nonetheless; kind of like snow in Vancouver.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news;_ylt=AjTMpl2344aU6couR6pB8Nt9sbV_?slug=dw-vancouverstorylines020910&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson was the boxing equivalent of the UCLA basketball team of the early 1970s or the Oklahoma football team of the mid-1950s: essentially unbeatable.

As a new decade began, Tyson was far and away the most dominant heavyweight in the world. He entered 1990 with a 37-0 record and 33 knockouts, as well as an aura of invincibility. He was widely feared and made opponents melt just by sneering at them.
His punching power was such that he’d knock down men twice with the same punch; they’d go down from the blow, attempt to rise and fall again. At the time, he was even more feared as a puncher than the previous generation’s heaviest hitter, former heavyweight champion George Foreman.

Tyson walked to the ring on Feb. 11, 1990, in Tokyo (Feb. 10 in the U.S.) to face Buster Douglas as such an overwhelming favorite that only one Las Vegas casino dared put odds on it.

The Mirage, open only a few months, made Tyson a whopping 42-1 favorite to retain his title. That meant that in order to make a $100 profit, a bettor had to lay $4,200.

Douglas entered the fight largely considered a disappointment who would give in when the going got rough. He was the type that Tyson was generally able to intimidate in the prefight buildup and make short work of in the ring.

Douglas, though, was a talented athlete and gifted boxer who had never been particularly motivated. But his mother died three weeks before the bout and he suddenly had more motivation than he could ever need.

He wanted to win the belt to honor his mother. It was straight out of a Hollywood script, except it was 100 percent real.

And that’s why Douglas’ 10th-round knockout over Tyson is boxing’s greatest upset of the last 50 years.

Here is a look at the top 10 upsets in that time:

1. Buster Douglas KO10 Mike Tyson, Tokyo, Feb. 11, 1990: Douglas was 5½ inches taller with a 12-inch longer reach. He used it to pound Tyson with a surprisingly hard and accurate jab, and frequently followed it with a popping right. He used his athleticism to move side to side and neutralize Tyson’s tremendous punching power. Douglas was knocked down in the eighth round, but pounded his fist on the canvas in frustration at his mistake. He arose, boxed well and two rounds later, stopped Tyson in perhaps the biggest upset in sports history.

2. Kirkland Laing W10 Roberto Duran, Detroit, Sept. 4, 1982: Duran entered the bout with a 74-3 record and an impressive victory over the great Sugar Ray Leonard. His only losses were to two Hall of Famers, Leonard and Wilfred Benitez, and to the very tough Esteban DeJesus. Laing was a Jamaican living in England known as “The Gifted One.” Still, Laing entered the bout with just a 23-3-1 record and no wins of note. Duran was coming off losses to Leonard in the infamous “No mas” fight and to the great Benitez: He was simply looking to get back on track and was expected to destroy Laing. He set a fast pace in the bout, which Laing matched. Laing showed a surprising ability to absorb Duran’s best body shots. Duran began to fade in the later rounds and Laing did not. He pulled out a split-decision victory over one of the top 10 fighters in boxing history. Laing would be knocked out in his next bout by Fred “The Pumper” Hutchings. But he put his name into the history books with the notable win over Duran.

3. Leon Spinks W15 Muhammad Ali, Las Vegas, Feb. 15, 1978: It seemed almost preposterous to put Spinks to the same ring as Ali, even though Ali was closer to the end of his magnificent career than the beginning. Spinks was just 6-0-1 as a professional and his most significant performance had been a 10-round draw with veteran Scott LeDoux. He gave up years of experience, as well as 27 pounds, to Ali. But Ali wasn’t particularly interested in working hard that night and hadn’t taken his training too seriously, either. Spinks, on the other hand, could probably have fought hard for 25 rounds, not just 15. His relentlessness and unyielding motor led him to the shocking victory. Ali simply wasn’t in good enough condition to keep Spinks from mauling him, and Spinks won a well-earned split decision.

4. Cassius Clay TKO7 Sonny Liston, Miami Beach, Fla., Feb. 25, 1964: The young Clay had been the light heavyweight gold medalist at the 1960 Olympics in Rome and was clearly a talented prospect. But in 1964, Liston was what George Foreman would be in the 1970s or Mike Tyson was to become in the 1980s: the most feared knockout artist on the planet. He entered the fight 35-1 and was coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts of Floyd Patterson. Clay behaved erratically in the prefight buildup and most assumed he was afraid. Clay had just turned 22, but he was wily enough to concoct a plan to rile Liston. Liston was enraged and tore at him. Clay, who would change his name to Muhammad Ali after the fight, used his speed, quickness and lateral movement to outclass Liston. He kept a jab in Liston’s face, countered him beautifully and frustrated the bully by never standing in front of him flat-footed. Liston quit on his stool after the sventh round, citing an injured shoulder, but it was clear that the young Clay had beaten the fight out of him.

5. Ross Puritty TKO11 Wladimir Klitschko, Kiev, Ukraine, Dec. 5, 1998: Klitschko was the 1996 super heavyweight gold medalist at the Atlanta Olympics and had built a 24-0 record as a professional going into the fight with Puritty. Klitschko was big, powerful and athletic and was widely viewed as a future superstar. Puritty was a solid journeyman who had been in with the likes of Hasim Rahman, Chris Byrd, Tommy Morrison and Michael Grant, but Klitschko was an overwhelming favorite. The fight, though, highlighted one of the shortcomings of Klitschko’s career. He was comfortably ahead when he badly ran out of gas in the 10th round. Puritty knocked him down in that round and finished off a visibly weakened Klitschko in the 11th. Klitschko would go on to win a world title less than two years later, while Puritty would go just 6-7-2 after that fight. Klitschko is now among the most dominant champions in boxing, making the upset even more remarkable in retrospect.

6. Muhammad Ali KO8 George Foreman, Kinshasa, Zaire, Oct. 30, 1974: Most of the great upsets involve a little known or lightly respected winner. Such is not the case in this fight. Had Ali retired without fighting Foreman, he still would have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer. This is one of boxing’s great upsets because of the perception of each man at the time of the bout. Foreman was 40-0 with 37 knockouts and was easily destroying men who had given Ali fits. Ken Norton had split a pair of fights with Ali, though many observers thought he deserved the decision in both, heading into a fight with Foreman. Foreman knocked him out in the second round. Joe Frazier had beaten Ali in their epic 1971 fight and had lost a tough decision to him in a tough 1974 bout. Many openly feared for Ali’s safety against Foreman. But Ali devised the “Rope-a-Dope” strategy, noticing in earlier fights that Foreman tired easily. Ali laid on the ropes in the early rounds, covered his face with his arms and hands and allowed Foreman to beat on him. When Foreman tired, as Ali expected, Ali opened up and knocked out Foreman to become only the second man to regain the heavyweight title.

7. Hasim Rahman KO5 Lennox Lewis, Carnival City, South Africa, April 22, 2001: Lewis was clearly the best heavyweight in the world going into the fight and was on a roll. He was coming off impressive victories over Evander Holyfield, Michael Grant, Francois Botha and David Tua and seemed to be headed for a showdown either with one of the Klitschko brothers or with Tyson. Rahman was a solid professional, but never was considered of championship timber. His most notable win had been a knockout of Corrie Sanders, but he’d lost winnable fights to the likes of Tua and Oleg Maskaev. The key, though, was that Lewis had been making a movie prior to the fight and arrived in South Africa late. Rahman arrived early and adjusted to the time change. He was in shape and in the fifth round caught Lewis with a combination and knocked him out. Lewis would reclaim the title in a rematch seven months later and Rahman would never win another significant fight.

8. Willy Wise W10 Julio Cesar Chavez, Las Vegas, Oct. 2, 1999: Chavez was clearly nearing the end of a fabulous career in which he established himself as one of the greatest boxers ever. He was 102-3-2 at the time, which made Wise’s record of 23-6-4 seem inconsequential. Wise had no significant wins and entered the fight on a three-bout losing skein. But he was known as “Slick Willy” and was able to outbox an out-of-shape Chavez and win a clear unanimous decision victory.

9. George Foreman KO10 Michael Moorer, Las Vegas, Nov. 5, 1994: Foreman was in his second career at the time he met the then-unbeaten Moorer. He was the cheeseburger-munching, grill-pitching fat guy attempting to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history. He was 45 and had failed in two previous post-40 title challenges, against Evander Holyfield and Tommy Morrison. Moorer was 35-0 and controlled most of the fight. He outboxed and outworked Foreman and was ahead comfortably on the scorecards after nine rounds. As Foreman walked out of his corner for the 10th, his trainer, Angelo Dundee, said to him, “You have to put this guy down. You’re behind, baby!” Foreman’s left eye was closing from being hit repeatedly by Moorer’s jab and, fighting for the first time in 17 months, he was beginning to tire. But he ripped Moorer with a straight right that put the champion down and out. HBO announcer Jim Lampley famously said, “It happened! It happened!” after referee Joe Cortez counted Moorer out.

10. Evander Holyfield TKO11 Mike Tyson, Las Vegas, Nov. 11, 1996: Just over two years after Foreman’s upset of Moorer, Holyfield pulled off another major stunner in the same ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Holyfield had been a great champion and was headed to the Hall of Fame, but he seemed finished when he got the Tyson fight. He was thought to be beset by health problems and the Nevada Athletic Commission sent him to the Mayo Clinic for a battery of tests before approving him to fight. Bookmakers, though, didn’t mind that he passed, because they tabbed him a 24-1 underdog. Holyfield was never intimidated and wound up bullying the bully. Tyson had gone to prison after his loss to Douglas, but upon his release, had reestablished himself as the top man in the division. He ripped through contenders at a frightening pace and few, other than Ron Borges of the Boston Globe and Bruce Keidan of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, gave him a shot. But he wasn’t intimidated by Tyson, fought back hard and eventually forced referee Mitch Halpern to stop the bout in the 11th round.

10 other upsets of note: Frankie Randall W12 Julio Cesar Chavez, Las Vegas, Jan. 24, 1994; Vince Phillips TKO10 Kostya Tszyu, Atlantic City, N.J., May 31, 1997; Oliver McCall TKO2 Lennox Lewis, London, Sept. 24, 1994; Iran Barkley KO3 Thomas Hearns, Las Vegas, June 6, 1988; Nigel Benn KO10 Gerald McClellan, London, Feb. 25, 1995; Corrie Sanders TKO2 Wladimir Klitschko, Hannover, Germany, March 8, 2003; Zahir Raheem W12 Erik Morales, Los Angeles, Sept. 10, 2005; Glen Johnson KO9 Roy Jones Jr., Sept. 25, 2004, Memphis, Tenn.; Roger Stafford W10 Pipino Cuevas, Las Vegas, Nov. 7, 1981; Leotis Martin KO9 Sonny Liston, Las Vegas, Dec. 6, 1969.


written by:Kevin Lole
site: http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=Av5rUAj.n_v2xUpKDKT11vE5nYcB?slug=ki-biggestupsets021010&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

MIAMI -- Fresh off a vindicating Super Bowl XLIV victory that took the franchise to the NFL mountaintop for the first time in its 43-year existence, the New Orleans Saints today plunge into an offseason unlike any in recent league history.

You've heard the news by now: For the first time since 1993, there will be no salary cap this year unless a labor agreement between the owners and players miraculously unfolds before March 5 (it won't). As a result, the level of free agency activity will be vastly affected.

It's actually a very fortuitous turn of events for the newly crowned Saints. New Orleans has a laundry list of 18 restricted free agents, some of whom would have been unrestricted free agents in the system that allowed players to test the market after their fourth season in the NFL. Now that the hurdle will be six seasons of tenure, the Saints will have the right to match any offers made to starters such as All-Pro guard Jahri Evans, running back Pierre Thomas, offensive tackles Jermon Bushrod and Jammal Brown and safety Roman Harper. The same goes for key reserves such as defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, tight end David Thomas and receiver Lance Moore.

The losing Colts, whose upset at the hands of the Saints cost them the chance to join the Patriots (three) and Steelers (two) as the only multiple Super Bowl winners of the now-finished NFL decade, also benefit. Starters such as offensive tackle Charlie Johnson, safety Antoine Bethea, and reserves that include cornerback Tim Jennings, safety Aaron Francisco and linebacker Freddy Keiaho will be restricted rather than unrestricted free agents.

And don't forget, as two of the final four teams in the playoffs, the Saints and Colts (as well as the Jets and Vikings) aren't allowed to sign another team's unrestricted free agent unless they lose one of their own of equal or more value. That new rule alone should contribute to more of a status-quo offseason for the two Super Bowl-qualifying clubs than we've seen in almost two decades.

With the long NFL season finally over for all 32 teams, here's a snapshot at how the two Super Bowl teams stand as they head into the personnel acquisition phase of the league's calendar.
SAINTS

Salary cap

It was almost $128 million in 2009, but you can erase that number from your memory, because there will be no salary ceiling or floor (it was $108 million last year) in 2010. Opinions are somewhat divided on what that will mean in terms of spending this season, but it certainly should allow for the two Super Bowl teams to prioritize and keep any player they deem a must-have. And teams also have the use of an additional transition player tag at their disposal this year, allowing them to effectively lock up another potential free agent in 2010.

Free agency

With so many restricted free agents hitting the market (sort of), the Saints may indeed have some decisions to make regarding offer sheets made to their third- or fourth-year veterans. But with the ability to match any deal, New Orleans will be firmly in control and can pick and choose who it cares to retain. In terms of the Saints unrestricted free agents, there really are just two key names to know: Safety Darren Sharper and linebacker Scott Fujita.

Sharper signed a one-year, bargain-basement $1.7 million deal last offseason, and then proceeded to share the NFL lead in interceptions this season with nine picks, returning three for touchdowns. He was the glue of the Saints secondary, was named All-Pro, and proved to be the perfect fit in centerfield for coordinator Gregg Williams' takeaway-hungry defense. He's 34, but the Saints absolutely have to re-sign him given the width and breadth of his impact this season. Even better for New Orleans, Sharper loved playing for Williams and would like nothing better than to stay put and chase another ring.

Fujita, 30, is another valuable veteran and consummate team player who the Saints will likely try to retain. Though they need to get a bit younger and more athletic at outside linebacker, where Scott Shanle lines up on the weak side, opposite Fujita, it's likely they'll use the draft to supplement that position. They won't break the bank for Fujita, but he's the kind of smart, solid starter that head coach Sean Payton admires and covets. He too loves playing in New Orleans, and won't be looking to merely chase the highest bidder.

Backup quarterback Mark Brunell just finished his 17th season and turns 40 in August. He doesn't seem to be making any noise about retirement, saying he still wants to play. But it's probably a long shot that he returns to New Orleans after he looked pretty feeble in his only start of the season, taking over for the resting Drew Brees in Week 17 at Carolina.

There has also been speculation regarding Reggie Bush's future in New Orleans because his salary jumps to $8 million in 2010, which is an awfully big number for a running back who has never cracked 600 yards rushing in his four NFL seasons. But I don't think there's any way the Saints release him, and a trade seems very unlikely. Bush ended the season on an upswing, and Payton likes him and has stood behind him since making him his first draft pick in New Orleans in 2006. He has two years left on his rookie contract, and the Saints could try to restructure the deal, but it's more likely the Super Bowl win will mean the marriage between Bush and New Orleans continues unchanged in 2010.

Defensive end Charles Grant is another veteran whose status could prompt a decision. He has been just an average player for the Saints the past couple of years, and they could approach him about restructuring, or release him. But while his 2011 salary jumps way up, he's at just $4 million this year, and that could mean he gets one more season as a Saint before a move must be made.

Coaching staff

After replacing/losing both coordinators last offseason, Payton doesn't look to have any moves to make this year. Williams loved his first season in New Orleans and talked throughout Super Bowl week about not caring particularly if he ever gets another NFL coaching shot. The former Bills head coach said he has learned that who you're working with and where you're working has become paramount to him. It doesn't hurt either that his son, Blake, is a Saints coaching assistant.

Earlier this postseason, the Bears had requested permission to interview Saints tight ends coach Terry Malone. But it's assumed it was for Chicago's then-vacant offensive coordinator job, which has since been filled by Mike Martz.

Draft position

The Saints have never picked last in the first round before, but I imagine they'll happily take their No. 32 slot with a sense of satisfaction. New Orleans led the NFL in scoring this season and its offense overflows with weapons, so it's logical to see defense being addressed early in the draft. They could use a pass rusher at defensive end, especially if they release Grant, and generating more pressure off the edge seems like their top priority.

If Fujita leaves, and maybe even if he doesn't, taking an outside linebacker would be a no-brainer. The Saints were torn between Brian Cushing and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins last year in the first round. They took Jenkins and were rewarded, but Cushing was the league's defensive rookie of the year and made an early and steady impact in Houston.

Whatever unfolds in free agency, a defensive front seven player makes the most sense for New Orleans, because for the first time in years, the Saints secondary is in pretty good shape.

2010 schedule

Like the Colts, the Saints were the only team in their division that made the playoffs this season. But both divisions featured a couple teams at .500 or better, so the gap between the champions and the also-rans might not be as large as it seems. In the Saints' case, there's still never been a repeat champion in the eight-year history of the NFC South, a distinction that is not shared by any other division.

New Orleans only went 4-2 in the division, but was 12-1 in games outside it, including the playoffs. Next year's schedule for the Saints is headlined by an NFC title game rematch against Minnesota at the Superdome, but that's the only home game New Orleans faces against a 2009 playoff team.

The Saints do however have a tough road schedule, drawing four playoff teams from this year: Arizona, Dallas, Baltimore and Cincinnati. The Cardinals will be out for revenge after being knocked out of the NFC playoffs at New Orleans in the divisional round.

Overall, the Saints have five games against 2009 playoff teams, and eight games against teams that had winning records this season. They draw the tough AFC North in interconference play, but the somewhat softer NFC West in their four-game intraconference slate. And while Tampa Bay figures to still be rebuilding next season, the Bucs did beat New Orleans on the road this year, and the Saints' four games against division rivals Atlanta and Carolina are always pretty fierce battles.

Salary cap

Not really applicable this year. See above, Saints salary-cap situation.

Free agency

The Colts don't have the bevy of restricted free agents the Saints do, but there are players like Bethea, Jennings, Johnson, Francisco, cornerback Marlin Jackson, and linebacker Tyjuan Hagler who could potentially create some action on the offer sheet front. All told, there are more than 200 players league-wide who would have been unrestricted free agents this year under the previous cap-era CBA rules, but will now be restricted.

Indianapolis has one key cog it wants to re-sign: middle linebacker Gary Brackett, the team's 29-year-old defensive captain. The Colts value the job Brackett does and his leadership abilities, but their history is they won't throw stupid money at linebackers (see Mike Peterson, Marcus Washington, David Thornton and Cato June, all of whom left Indy via free agency).

Brackett sounds like he's seeking big bucks, because the seven-year veteran accepted a fairly modest, below-market second contract from Indy a few years back, so this figures to be his career's big payday. It also helps Brackett that he'll be one of the bigger names to reach unrestricted free agency this year.

With no cap implications to worry about this year, it's possible the Colts could move preemptively to lock up Brackett in the next four weeks and not let him reach the market. But it seems more likely he'll want to find out his worth, and then allow the Colts to stay in the game and compete with any potential offers. The only other headline name who is headed for unrestricted free agency is kicker Matt Stover, but he's 42, and was just the injury replacement for Adam Vinatieri this season.

Coaching staff

Last year at this time, the head coaching torch was being passed from Tony Dungy to Jim Caldwell, in a transition that has to go down as one of the most seamless in NFL history. Caldwell failed in his attempt to become the fifth rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl, but going 16-3 and not losing your first game until after Christmas is not too shabby for your first season.

The Colts have a very veteran assistant coaching staff, and they'll be losing some of that expertise, because senior offensive line coach Howard Mudd made it clear during Super Bowl week he intends to retire. Mudd's as old as, well, mud, and his 36 years of NFL coaching experience won't be easily replaced. But Pete Metzelaars is already on staff as the team's offensive quality control/assistant offensive line coach, and figures to be one option.

Tom Moore, the team's senior offensive coordinator, says he still wants to coach and doesn't have plans to follow Mudd into retirement. Moore is on a year-by-year basis at this point in his long career, but he's still important to what Peyton Manning and the Colts do on offense, and the odds are he'll be back with Indy in 2010. As long as No. 18 is in his corner, Moore's role is probably somewhat safe.

Draft position

With their No. 31 draft pick in the first round, the Colts have a couple different directions they could go when it comes to need. Their defensive tackle position still could use an upgrade, and Penn State's Jared Odrick is a name that many believe the Colts might be interested in. Losing Brackett could prompt Indy to dip into the inside linebacker market, but somehow Bill Polian always finds a quality replacement for veteran linebackers who leave and seek their fortunes via free agency.

Offensive tackle is the other logical position for the Colts to consider. Left tackle Charlie Johnson did a good job guarding Manning's blindside this season, but that spot could be upgraded and if the right guy's on the board it would represent great draft value at No. 31.

Backup quarterback could be addressed lower in the draft. Jim Sorgi was out with an injury late in the year, which meant rookie Curtis Painter saw way more action than Indy probably wished he saw in Weeks 16 and 17. If there's potential greatness in Painter, let's just say it has yet to reveal itself.

2010 schedule

In a season in which I predicted them to take a step back and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2001, the Colts managed to start 14-0, win another AFC South title, and log an NFL-record seventh consecutive year of 12 wins or more. So I'm not getting fooled again. The Colts will enter next season as the favorites in their division, just as they have been for almost the entire length of Manning's 12-year NFL career.

The highlight of the Indianapolis schedule next season will once again be a showdown with New England, but for the first time since November 2006, the game will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. The last four meetings of the two bitter rivals have been on the Colts' home turf, including the 2006 AFC title game.

The Colts next year have five games against teams that went to the playoffs this season, but three of those are at Lucas Oil Stadium: visits from the Chargers, Bengals and Cowboys. Only trips to New England and Philadelphia look particularly tough, although division rivals Houston, Tennessee, Jacksonville always play the Colts fairly tough. Though Indy was 6-0 against those three this season, just two games separated the 9-7 second-place Texans from the 7-9 last-place Jaguars.

Indianapolis will play the rugged NFC East in their four-game interconference schedule, with home games against the Cowboys and Giants, but trips to Washington and Philly. Drawing the AFC West for their intraconference opponents looks a little more inviting, especially since division champion and Colts nemesis San Diego must travel to the Midwest.

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