Looks like the Saints have found a number two wide receiver to compliment Michael Thomas. New Orleans announced yesterday they signed unrestricted free agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders on a two-year contract. He’s 33-years-old and over the last seven seasons, he’s averaged 63 catches for 825 yards.

32-year-old Malcolm Jenkins returns to the Saints after a six-year run in Philadelphia. Jenkins says he’s yet to talk with the Saints about his role as a leader…
cut 18 (20) “….that is”
The Saints have also re-signed veteran safety D-J Swearinger to a one-year deal.

The I-O-C says it will discuss over the next month whether the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo should be postponed. The Olympics are set to begin on July 24th. World Athletics president Seb Coe says July is neither feasible nor desirable. U-S Swimming and Track Associations have both called on their national Olympic officials to push for a postponement.

The coronavirus pandemic has halted the NASCAR season, but NASCAR I-Racing held a virtual race from the Homestead-Miami Speedway yesterday. Three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin beat Dale Earnhart Junior. Timmy Hill, Chase Briscoe, and Garrett Smithley rounded out the top five.

No word on when Major League Baseball will begin its season. Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro says when baseball does resume, the players will need a second spring-training lasting about four weeks before regular season play can begin. Shapiro says they are waiting to see some sort of flattening of the curve before play can begin.

Left guard Andrus Peat is staying with the Saints. New Orleans and the former first-round pick have agreed to a five-year, 57.5 million dollar contract. 33-million dollars is reportedly guaranteed. Peat started in 10 regular-season games last year and in the playoff loss to the Vikings. Since his rookie season, New Orleans has ranked first in the NFL in net yards per game and points per game. Peat has been named a Pro Bowler the last two seasons.

Tom Brady has officially signed with Tampa Bay. ESPN reports it’s a two-year deal, worth 50-million dollars and all of it is guaranteed.

Todd Gurley will also play in the NFC South in 2020. One day after the Rams released the former Georgia Bulldog, the Falcons signed Gurley to a one-year six-million dollar contract.

Saints Coach Sean Payton says he’s feeling well, even though he’s tested positive for the coronavirus. Payton will spend the weekend quarantined.

The coronavirus outbreak has not stopped LSU football coach Ed Orgeron from receiving a verbal pledge. Three-star Florida safety Dakota Mitchell has announced his commitment to the Tigers. 24-7-sports rates Mithcell as the nation’s 27th best safety. He’s the fifth member of the 2021 recruiting class to commit to LSU.

The Saints have restructured the contracts of wide receiver Michael Thomas and offensive tackle Terron Armstead, converting their base salaries to bonuses. The new deals save the Black and Gold 16 million dollars against the salary cap.

ESPN’s Field Yates reports New Orleans has also picked up the fifth-year options for both cornerback Marcus Lattimore and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk.

The summer Olympics are set to start on July 24th in Tokyo. Today USA Swimming called for a one-year postponement of the Games because of the global coronavirus pandemic. So far Japanese organizers and the International Olympic Committee have said there is no need for any drastic decisions at this moment.

Saints Coach Sean Payton is the first person from the NFL to test positive for COVID-19. Payton said he started not feeling well on Sunday and took the test Monday and found out he was one of the 392 people in Louisiana to test positive for the virus on Thursday afternoon. Payton says he does not have a high fever or respiratory issues. The 56-year-old posted a picture of himself and his dog hanging out at his house and said he’s feeling better and has four more days of isolation at his home.

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart and two unidentified Los Angeles Lakers have also tested positive for COVID-19.

Saints defensive tackle David Onyemata says the brotherhood he has with the rest of his defensive line is the reason why he re-signed with the Black and Gold. Onyemata is coming off a season where he had three sacks and 32 tackles.

The Saints have restructured the contracts of wide receiver Michael Thomas and offensive tackle Terron Armstead, converting their base salaries to bonuses. The new deals save the Black and Gold 16 million dollars against the salary cap.

ESPN’s Field Yates reports New Orleans has also picked up the fifth-year options for both cornerback Marcus Lattimore and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk.

And Former Saints wide receiver Keith Kirkwood has reportedly signed a one-year deal with the Panthers to catch passes from Teddy Bridgewater. Kirkwood caught 13 passes in New Orleans but did not catch a pass last season after injuring his hamstring during warmups before the Saints played the Rams in week two.

The coronavirus outbreak has not stopped LSU football coach Ed Orgeron from recruiting. The Tigers have received a verbal commitment from three-star Florida safety Dakota Mitchell. He’s the fifth member of the 2021 recruiting class to commit to LSU

It appears veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins will return to the Saints. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports New Orleans is close to signing Jenkins, who has spent the last six years in Philadelphia. Jenkins was a standout rookie for the Black and Gold when the Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009. He also helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl 2018. The former Ohio State Buckeye had 81 tackles last season, 2.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.

Saints cornerback Eli Apple has reportedly signed with the Oakland Raiders. Apple has spent the year and a half in New Orleans and had mix results, 28 tackles, two interceptions and 13 pass breakups. New Orleans is set to play the Raiders this season.

Nick Underhill with New-Orleans-football-dot-com says the Saints have restructured the contracts of wide receiver Michael Thomas and tackle Terron Armstead to open up more cap space.

Instead of getting ready for Mississippi State this weekend, LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri is sitting at home wondering about the future of his program. The NCAA is expected to give an extra year of eligiblity to the two seniors on his team since their season was cut short after 17 games. Mainieri says that would be a good move by the NCAA, but that will bring more challenges when it comes to managing the roster…
cut 30 (31) “…right now”

A new NFL league year begins this afternoon and that’s when the two-year, 50-million dollar agreement between the Saints and Drew Brees will become official. With this contract, Brees will surpass more than 260-million dollars in career earnings.

The Saints have also agreed on contract changes with linebacker Kiko Alonso and cornerback Patrick Robinson.

Teddy Bridgewater is set to make a living in Charlotte. Bridgewater has been Brees’ primary backup the last two seasons but has reportedly agreed to a three-year, 60-million dollar contract with the Panthers. Carolina has announced that they are letting Cam Newton’s agents pursue a trade. Newton went on social media and said he’s being forced out.

And the newest quarterback in the N-F-C South appears to be Tom Brady. Brady announced yesterday he’s leaving New England after 20 years, but didn’t say where his career will continue, but multiple media reports say Brady is set to become a Buccaneer.

An HBO documentary called “The Scheme” will reportedly air the FBI wiretap conversations between LSU Coach Will Wade and middleman Christian Dawkins, who was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison for his role in a pay-for-play scheme involving recruits. Partial transcripts have been released that quoted Wade discussing a “strong offer” for a recruit. The documentary is set to air March 31st.

The SEC has canceled the remaining athletic contests for the 2019-20 sports seasons and that includes the Tigers spring football game on April 18th. Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri is trying to cope with the end of LSU’s season after just 17 games…
cut 30 (20) “….move on”
Mainieri is waiting for guidance from the NCAA as far as whether his players will receive an extra year of eligibility.

The Saints and quarterback Drew Brees have reportedly agreed on a two-year, 50-million dollar contract. Brees is 41-years-old, but NFL analyst Mike Detillier says the future Hall of Famer gives New Orleans the best chance to win in 2020…
cut 13 (09) “…this league”
Backup Q-B Teddy Bridgewater is reportedly set to sign with the Panthers as Carolina is reportedly looking to trade Cam Newton. Newton said on Instagram that he never wanted to be traded and it’s the Panthers who forced this.

Could Tom Brady end up in the NFC South. Brady announced on social media today that he will play in 2020, but not with the New England Patriots. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers are the most likely landing spots for the 42-year-old.

The Southeastern Conference announced today that the 2019-2020 athletic season is officially over as there will be no baseball or softball regular-season games. Spring football games and pro days have also been canceled. The league previously said that all competition was suspended until April 15th.

In a conference call with reporters, Athletics Director Scott Woodward says fans who had tickets to events that were canceled will get their money back, it just may take a little time…
cut 16 (08) “….refund your tickets”
Woodward says their focus also moves to the fall sports and the hope that football can start its season on time.

LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine is still holding out hope that spring championships can be played and is willing to hold them in June if it is possible. Schools are shut down until April 13th so no games can be played until after that time.

Drew Brees and the Saints have reportedly agreed to a new two-year 50-million dollar contract to keep the future Hall of Famer in New Orleans. NFL analyst Mike Detillier says it’s the right move to re-sign the 41-year-old at an affordable price for a star quarterback…
cut 12 (10) “…some leeway”
The Saints have also re-signed defensive tackle David Onyemata after he had 32 tackles, three sacks and three tackles for a loss last season.

Elsewhere, Tom Brady has announced on social media that he’s leaving New England. Tampa Bay is reportedly interested. The Panthers are reportedly willing to trade Cam Newton and Carolina is said to be interested in Teddy Bridgewater. Newton said on Instagram that he never asked for a trade.

Saints linebacker AJ Klein has signed with Buffalo Bills.

LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward says the coronavirus pandemic raises plenty of questions on the impact on LSU sports. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Voicer 3 (28) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

The Sun Belt Conference has announced that spring sports have been canceled for the remainder of the year. Conference USA has made the same decision due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine is still holding out hope that spring championships can be played and is willing to hold them in June if it is possible.

The Saints have reportedly re-signed defensive tackle David Onyemata. The 27-year-old started a career-high 15 games last season and had a career-high eleven quarterback hits, had three sacks and 32 tackles. New Orleans has also re-signed long snapper Zach Wood to a four-year deal worth 4.78 million dollars.

But former Saints linebacker A-J Klein has agreed to a deal with the Bills. Klein has played in New Orleans for the past three seasons. Klein’s deal with Buffalo is for three-years and 18-million dollars.

Pelicans and Saints owner Gayle Benson has donated one million dollars to create the Gayle Benson Community Assistance Fund. In a statement, Benson says she wants to assist those who have been impacted in the community from the COVID-19 pandemic. Benson says she will also establish an Arena Assistance Fund for those who are impacted by the NBA’s decision to suspend the season.

LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward says he wants to see the spring sports athletes get another of eligibility after seeing their seasons cut short as a result of the coronavirus. The NCAA has already indicated this will happen. Woodward says more discussion needs to take place for the same thing to occur for winter sports athletes. He says there are about 120 student-athletes remaining on campus and some services open to them, like the cafeteria…
cut 15 (13) “…as we are talking”

The Louisiana High School Athletics Asociation is still holding out hope that they can have championship events for spring sports. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine says there’s a chance the title games could be pushed to June.

The legal tampering period for NFL free agency is underway and Saints unrestricted free agent quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is getting a lot of interest. The Bears have spoken to Bridgewater’s camp, but multiple reports say a deal is not likely. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also an option for Bridgewater according to NFL insider Peter King. Meanwhile, New Orleans needs to sign Drew Brees to a new contract.

The Cowboys have used the exclusive franchise tag on quarterback Dak Prescott. That means Prescott can not talk to other teams and Dallas has until July 15th to work out a long-term contract.

The Falcons have released two-time Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman with three years and 21-million dollars left on his contract. The moves saves Atlanta 3.5 million dollars towards the salary cap.

And Major League Baseball said it’s a season, which was set to start on March 26th, will now begin in mid-May at the earliest, based on the CDC’s latest recommendations.

Pelicans and Saints owner Gayle Benson has donated one million dollars to create the Gayle Benson Community Assistance Fund. In a statement, Benson says she wants to assist those who have been impacted in the community from the COVID-19 pandemic. Benson says she will also establish an Arena Assistance Fund for those who are impacted by the NBA’s decision to suspend the season.

And when will the NBA return. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says owners and executives have been told to brace for a mid-to-late June return as a best-case scenario. And when games do return to the court, they might not have fans in the arena. The league has also asked owners to look into securing arena venues into the month of August.

LSU athletics director Scott Woodward expects in the next few days that the SEC will announce that the league’s baseball and softball tournaments are officially canceled. Woodward says the focus going forward is the school’s fall sports and the financial impact of no spring sports is not their major concern right now.