Culture

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080624/SPORTS/806240358/1287 NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints will report to training camp at Millsaps College on July 23, with the first set of two-a-day practices scheduled the next day. The team will break camp and return to New Orleans on Aug. 12, giving the Saints roughly three weeks to bake in the sweltering Mississippi heat. This will be the Saints' third straight year in Jackson, a tradition that has met with mixed results. In 2006, new coach Sean Payton used the grueling getaway to set the tone for one of the most remarkable single-season turnarounds in NFL history. Last year, however, the Saints got off to an 0-4 start and failed to reach the playoffs. clarionledger.com 6/24/08

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/8276712/Georgia-comes-back-to-win-Game-1-of-CWS-finals OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Gordon Beckham's teammates had given him a hard time for a week because he hadn't hit the home run that would make him Georgia's career leader. "Tonight," he said, "was a pretty good time to do it." Yes, it was. Beckham's two-run shot to left-center started a four-run eighth inning that brought Georgia from three runs down to defeat Fresno State 7-6 in Game 1 of the College World Series finals Monday night. Matt Cerione and Joey Lewis followed with consecutive doubles for the tying and go-ahead runs, and then All-America closer Joshua Fields pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to finish off Fresno State. Georgia (45-23-1) now stands one win from a second national championship to go with the one it won in 1990. Fresno State (45-31), 4-0 in elimination games in the NCAA tournament, will try to keep its improbable postseason run alive when the teams meet in Game 2 on Tuesday. "We're a loose ballclub," Fresno State third baseman Tommy Mendonca said. "We can't play tense and tight. That's when errors and mental mistakes come. We can't be all angry about every little thing. It's baseball. You're going to fail. We just have to be calm, be loose, be easy." Fresno State appeared to take control in the top of the eighth when it scored three runs to go up 6-3 against Alex McRee and two other relievers. But Georgia, which had rallied in the seventh inning or later to win its first two CWS games, wasn't finished. foxsports.net 6/24/08

http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/206899 NBC and Notre Dame football have extended their exclusive TV contract through 2015, even though the 3-9 Fighting Irish drew their lowest ratings last season since the network started airing their games in 1991. Though the terms were not disclosed, the current contract (which runs through 2010) is reportedly worth $9 million a year. So we're talking a fair chunk of change for the last-place network to be tossing around. As always, the 10 Spot is eager to dispense unsolicited advice. Here are some things NBC and Notre Dame might tweak to juice the ratings: 10. Replace the leprechaun mascot with Regis Philbin 9. Schedule games against Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and the cast of Stripes 8. Network cross-promotion -- hand defensive coordinator job to The Office's Michael Scott and let the laughs begin! Fannation.com 6/21/08