The Saints will be in Metairie for training camp this season. The last three years, New Orleans held training camp in West Virginia. Coach Sean Payton was very complimentary of the setup at the Greenbrier Resort. But the team let the contract expire after three years and three straight non-playoff seasons. Saints anlayst Mike Detillier says practicing at the resort was not the reason for the losing seasons…
cut 17 (17) “…talent”
The Saints have also announced that Curtis Johnson is back as the teams’ receivers coach. Ryan Nielsen is the new defensive line coach. He’s been a college coach for 14 years, most recently with North Carolina State.

Louisiana Tech announces running back Jaqwis Dancy is cancer free. He was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma in October and is now cancer-free after several rounds of chemo and a couple rounds of radiation.

Louisiana Tech failed to score in the final 3:45 of last night’s ball game but they still defeated UTEP 62-61. Erik McCree had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the way.

UNO moved into first place in the Southland standings with a 69-63 win over McNeese State last night. Michael Zeno had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Privateers who are 9-3 in league play. The Cowboys had a four-point lead at halftime, but their conference record falls to 4-8.

Also in the Southland, Houston Baptist routed Northwestern State 86-69. The Demons are in last place with a 3-8 league record.

The 20-and-33 Pelicans begin a four-game road trip in Minnesota tonight. New Orleans will also play Sacramento, Phoenix and Memphis to close out the road swing. Three of the teams have losing records and the Pels need some wins because they are fading out of playoff contention. Alvin Gentry’s team is 3.5 back of Denver for the final playoff spot.