Wiz

Saints QB Brooks backs Gandy's salary cut refusal By Larry Weisman, USA TODAY Before the New Orleans Saints put their hand in Wayne Gandy's pocket, they should consider the other pocket; the one that protects quarterback Aaron Brooks from pressure. Gandy, the left tackle, is under a bit of pressure himself. The Saints front office has let him know it would like him to accept a cut in pay for the coming season, and he has declined. Thanks to an accelerator in the contract he signed in 2003 when he joined the Saints as a free agent, his base is $5.25 million. Brooks says this about Gandy: "I think the guy deserves every penny of it." Gandy goes into his 12th season as a pillar on which the Saints can try to build. At 34 he has seen the highs and lows of this league, from being a No. 1 draft pick of the St. Louis Rams in 1995, through four seasons (and two playoff berths) with the Pittsburgh Steelers and two years with the Saints that fell short of postseason opportunity. When their minicamp ended a little more than a week ago, the Saints gathered at a hotel ballroom in downtown New Orleans for a farewell party, hosted and paid for by Gandy. Yes, the same Gandy who bought pizzas for the team during the voluntary workouts. "I think that besides being a heck of a football player he does a lot for this team off the field," coach Jim Haslett says. Haslett has reasons for wanting to keep the veteran. Haslett is in the second to last year of his contract, and the club hasn't made the playoffs since the 2000 season, his first. The personnel department might be on a different timetable. The Saints drafted Jon Stinchcomb in the second round two years ago as the heir apparent on the left side of the line, but he has played in only 10 games, started in none. He's been on the inactive list 20 times. His strongest appeal might be a salary approximately $5 million lower than Gandy's. The likely starting right tackle this season will be No. 1 pick Jammal Brown. That's just not enough experience for a pair of tackles. By contrast, Gandy has started 168 games in the last 11 seasons, missing only one start since 1995. With a retooled offense that will rely more on the run, the Saints seek better balance and improvement in a line that will undergo changes at several positions. Brooks can only hope Gandy remains the fierce protector of his back side. "Tapping on Wayne's shoulder for a pay cut is not the answer," Brooks says. "That's kind of unfair, in my opinion. I respect him. I look up to him, as a player and as a person."

I was looking for an audio file for her grunt, and I ran across this little dity. Sharapova

Do they have a schedule out, yet. Will any of them be live?

Did they ask Phat what the impact of the recent advances in the research of the human genome will be?

Re: Losman, I think I'll take the word of Sam Wyche over big Pat, a DEFENSIVE tackle. And with re: TH, he is an asset and maybe if he wouldn't have been so public about wanting to leave, the Bills would have had some leverage to trade him. We love ya Pat, but enjoy life and quit being so bitter.

Greg, my dad passed away this past New Years Day and I know what you are going through. One of my best memories is him taking me to a Bills-Colts game back in '76 in Baltimore. Hang tough, things get better. God Bless.

TH's actions are being driven by his pride and sense of betrayal by the Bills org. He feels that he is a "franchise" type, pro-bowl back and the Bills betrayed him by bringing in WM. I think TH should swallow his pride, go back to the Bills and play out his contract. He will do well as a FA next year.

Hulk is back. It sounds like a winner of a show: Hulk Hogan's not only the world's most famous wrestler - he's also a very traditional suburban dad who just so happens to live on a 20,000-square-foot estate in Clearwater, Florida. Daughter Brooke (16) wants to be a pop star, and son Nick (14) wants to be a race car driver. As Hulk and his wife Linda watch their kids grow up before their eyes, they're more committed than ever to protecting them from sex, drugs, and the other evils of modern life. Watch as Hulk wrestles with the everyday struggles of Brooke, Nick, and Linda -- and also celebrates their triumphs. Somehow, he and Linda have tapped into the secrets of good parenting. So don't mess with the Hulkster - or his family. Grrrr! Hogan Family

RJ digs it.

It doesn't sound like Crennell will be sending him a happy ending.

RJ got sacked by a gay French designer before he went on the runway. I know what you're talking about re: NFL network and Bills coverage, but after painfully watching Rich Eisen sucking up to NFL players/execs/coaches, I won't turn it on at least until camp opens up.

The NFL network, at least in the offseason, seems to be a training grounds for nfl players who want to get into broadcasting after their careers are over and nothing more, it has minimal hard content or analysis.

Verba is an idiot. He's a cancer in the locker room and we, smartly, will not sign him.

If she takes any face time away from Stuart Scott, I'm a fan!!!

She was in Dumb and Dumber.

Is it this Rachel Nichols? Rachel NIchols

Is this her? If so, who pays any attention to what she says? Rachel Nichols

I think this answers the question, Where is RJ?

Sorry I didn't see the previous post. Other news re: the IOC report which gave rave reviews for Paris and "cited the continuing uncertainty over the New York stadium project, noting "no guarantees were provided" to ensure that the stadium and an international broadcasting center would be built." I never thought I'd be rooting for Paris to get the olympics!!

That and the fact that the Jets won't join the Snyder, Jones, etc. side in the fight for the new CBA. On July 6, the Olympic Committee will choose an olympic site. No stadium plan, no olympics and no olympics, no stadium.

New York Board Rejects NYC Stadium Plan Jun 6, 6:10 PM (ET) By MARC HUMBERT ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York City's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics suffered a setback Monday when a powerful state board rejected critical public funding for a $2 billion stadium on Manhattan's West side. The state Public Authorities Control Board vote came after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver came out against the plan for $300 million in public funding for the stadium that would also be home to the New York Jets. The state board could reconsider the issue again later. But without Silver's support, the state funding cannot move forward. "This plan is at best, premature," Silver said, indicating he was willing to continue talking about the issue. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had heavily lobbied Silver in recent days for support of the stadium. "If we don't have a stadium, we cannot get the Olympics," Bloomberg said after Silver's announcement. "I had not been able to persuade him." The mayor said he would talk with members of the U.S. Olympic Committee about how to proceed. Silver said the West Side stadium project and its related commercial development would hamper efforts to redevelop lower Manhattan, which he represents, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers. "Am I to sell out the community I have fought for?" Silver said at a state Capitol news conference. The speaker renewed his call for officials to consider putting the stadium in Queens. The Democrat's decision was announced less than an hour before the meeting of the Public Authorities Control Board. Silver, Republican Gov. George Pataki and state Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno each have a voting representative on the three-member PACB. Its actions must be unanimous. The PACB meeting, which was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., didn't get underway until almost 5:30 p.m. The delay was caused in part by the presence of more than 100 highly vocal stadium supporters and by continued behind-the-scene talks that dragged on through the afternoon. In the end, the board brought up the plan, but only Pataki's representative voted for it. Representatives of Silver and Bruno abstained. While Pataki has been a stadium backer, Bruno and Silver had remained on the fence. Earlier Monday, Bruno had said he was willing to have the state board approve the stadium funding contingent on the International Olympic Committee approving New York City's bid at its July 6 site selection session in Singapore. He offered that as an amendment at the PACB meeting, but the motion failed to gain a second.

To those who don't like our old helmet, it could be worse, the Broncos helmet from the same time period has the worst, bar none, of any nfl emblem. It looks like a retarded kindergartner's depiction of a horse.

This is hilarious. The Skins seem to be cursed by bad decisions and flat out bad luck. I think the only way they have a chance to win under Snyder is if the CBA doesn't get passed and there is no salary cap. Then he can spend like a drunken sailor ala Steinbrenner. Then, maybe then, they can win.

Boy, it's comforting knowing we drafted two Canes with our first two picks. My favorite Cane incident is still Najeh Davenport deficating in the coed's hamper

You're obviously mistaking me for that Navy guy.