http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080704/SPORTS/80703059/1006 Will the New Orleans Saints look more like the club that fall just one measly victory shy of playing in the Super Bowl in 2006? Or will they languish as the frustrating epitome of mediocrity, as they did in 2007? As training camp looms, you have to wonder. It has been said that 2006 was a fluke. That the Saints, no matter how talented, always have been and always will be a team that simply struggles on a regular basis. That they will continue to give their fan base fits with erratic play. But what if, in fact, 2007 was the fluke? What if the day Sean Payton was named the new head coach signaled a new era in New Orleans for a franchise that had only one playoff victory to its credit prior to the 2006 season? What if there is something to what is called the "sophomore slump?" Monroe news Star 7/4/08

http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080704/SPORTS/80703059/1006 Will the New Orleans Saints look more like the club that fall just one measly victory shy of playing in the Super Bowl in 2006? Or will they languish as the frustrating epitome of mediocrity, as they did in 2007? As training camp looms, you have to wonder. It has been said that 2006 was a fluke. That the Saints, no matter how talented, always have been and always will be a team that simply struggles on a regular basis. That they will continue to give their fan base fits with erratic play. But what if, in fact, 2007 was the fluke? What if the day Sean Payton was named the new head coach signaled a new era in New Orleans for a franchise that had only one playoff victory to its credit prior to the 2006 season? What if there is something to what is called the "sophomore slump?" Monroe news Star 7/4/08

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3472451 Tests of syringes and other steroid paraphernalia that trainer Brian McNamee submitted to federal agents will test positive for Roger Clemens' DNA, according to a brief filed in court by McNamee's lawyers. Although there has been considerable speculation about the materials McNamee submitted to federal agent Jeff Novitzky in January, his attorneys had refused to discuss them publicly until the filing of the brief. The brief, in support of McNamee's attempt to obtain an early dismissal of a defamation case Clemens filed against him or have the case moved to New York, was filed in court on Tuesday. The paraphernalia, including syringes and bloodied gauze pads, "will test positive for Clemens's DNA," the brief asserts. "Once the DNA results are revealed, there will be little dispute about who is telling the truth." espn.com 7/4/08

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3473113 NEW ORLEANS -- Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets reached a contract agreement Thursday that could keep the All-Star point guard with the team for at least the next four seasons. Lance Young, Paul's agent, said Paul agreed to a three-year extension with a player's option for a fourth year. The total value of the deal is $68 million. Paul, who recently completed his third NBA season and has been selected to play for the United States in the Olympics, has one season remaining on his current contract. Under league rules, the first day the Hornets can formalize Paul's new contract is July 9. Paul and Young met with Hornets general manager Jeff Bower at the team's training center in suburban New Orleans on Wednesday, but Young, who is based in the Washington, D.C., area with the sports management and marking company Octagon, flew home Thursday morning without the final details nailed down. Young said he had a conference call with Bower in the afternoon and a final agreement was reached a few hours later. The Hornets will pay Paul the maximum allowable under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, starting at 25 percent of the salary cap for the first year of the extension, with 10 percent raises thereafter. Last season, Paul led the NBA with averages of 11.6 assists and 2.7 steals. He was the Hornets' second-leading scorer, averaging 21.1 points in helping the Hornets reach a franchise-record 56 regular season victories. espn.com 7/4/08