New Orleans Saints and NFL: Top News and Video Clips

"It really has been fascinating to watch the flames climb on this New Orleans Saints story, the emperor of a very violent business feeding a howling and eager media one crumb at a time, keeping this dirty story in front of the eyes of his customers for more than a month now. You remember how NFL commissioner Roger Goodell became famous, right? For unprecedented penalties against players who dared to bring bad publicity for extended periods upon the league’s shield. That’s what he calls it, the shield. He did not want arrests and negativity in front of his paying customers in the news cycle, staining his shield, so he’d come down on misbehavior from repeat offenders with a punitive fury previously unseen in major American sports."

"Most New Orleans Saints fans had never heard of Sean Pamphilon before last week. Now the heretofore largely unknown filmmaker has taken his place alongside NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former FEMA director Michael Brown and former BP CEO Tony Hayward in the local Hall of Infamy."

"Electronic  Arts and ESPN announced today the 32 fan-selected  NFL players who will advance in the EA  SPORTS Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote. The announcement follows a two week play-in round, during which time fans voted between two teammates in matchups for each NFL team on the SportsNation Facebook page. Today, winners from each matchup moved on to the official cover vote bracket. Fans can vote for their favorite cover athlete candidate from  their computer or mobile phones at ESPN.com/MaddenVote through April 25."

"Gregg Williams has been painted as a rogue leader who didn’t view injuring the opposition as off-limits in the pursuit of victory. He’s clearly been defined this way, and the audio recording released by a documentary filmmaker last week will reinforce that reputation in perpetuity. But one retired NFL player told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel how the public views Williams is far from the man he once knew."

"The buzz is building around Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd, who improved his draft stock with a standout pro day last week. NFL.com’s Gil Brandt speculates Floyd could be the first receiver to go in the draft, ahead of Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon. Floyd said Sunday on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he would visit with the Tennessee Titans, St. Louis Rams, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals this week. He met with the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns last week and conducted a private workout with the Philadelphia Eagles."