Yes, we’re officially joining the Saints bandwagon this early.

With just a couple of weeks away before the 2010 NFL football season begins, there are a lot of questions about the capability of the New Orleans Saint to win back to back championships. As expected, all eyes will the on the defending champs on how they will play the first few games of the season.

The New Orleans Saints are entering the new season at the top of the league, as defending Super Bowl champs, rather than as the bottom-feeders they are so accustomed to being. So can they re-peat next year?

The Saints are returning 20 of 22 starters from last year’s team – typically, Super Bowl champions have many key contributors picked off their rosters as a result of the players’ new found fame. These players often become over hyped and thus choose to move on to other teams in search of more lucrative contracts.

In this case, however, the Saints have only lost two starters from their 2009 team; and those two starters were not key contributors. The addition of Clint Ingram; who will compete with Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Jonathan Casillas, and Stanley Arnoux for the starting strong-side linebacker spot; should prevent any drop-off in production.

Ingram, a fifth year pro from the University of Oklahoma, has tons of potential that he never managed to display in Jacksonville. Ingram is strictly a strong-side linebacker in a 4-3 defense as he struggled mightily when the Jaguars tinkered with a 3-4 style defense.

Now that he is returning to the Gregg Williams’ run 4-3 defense…

And we can’t really blame them.

Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints is currently on top of the mountain. He is the Super Bowl Champ, savior of New Orleans, and team leader. Coming to the 2010 NFL football season, there’s no reason why Brees won’t have another strong year.

Drew Brees was always told that he didn’t have the right height to play quarterback in the NFL. He had an injury that made the San Diego Chargers kick him to the curb, leading him to become the starting quarterback of the New Orleans Saints instead.

It’s in New Orleans where Drew Brees was supposed to just finish their careers, he didn’t get the memo. Brees picked himself up and the city around him. As he screams, “this is New Orleans” you realize that passion he’s screaming with is to say that not only did you count this city out, you counted me out, and all of my teammates in this huddle with me, so they’ll give everything they’ve got just to prove you all that counted them out wrong.

Drew Brees plays with the weight of New Orleans on his back with every pass. He threw over 500 passes last year and was the only quarterback who had over a 70 percent completion percentage.

So why is Brees so good..?

Yes, we know you are.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns on Saturday, August 7th from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA as fight fans will be treated to a world championship showdown between middleweight title holder and pound for pound king Anderson “The Spider” Silva, and number one challenger Chael Sonnen in UFC 117.

In case you’re new to the world of MMA, Anderson Silva has dominated the 185-pound division since 2006, but in Chael Sonnen, he may be meeting the one man with the style and determination to unseat him from the throne.

Silva has broken down everyone put in front of him and hasn’t been close to being tested or in trouble in any of his fights. He is nearly untouchable and seems to have ninja like skills in the Octagon. Here comes the rub. In his last three fights, Silva has seemed very bored. All of his last three fights have ended in decision victories. Silva has been coasting through the fights and putting on dance steps like never seen before in the UFC. His title defense at UFC 112 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi was a disgrace on many fronts.

On the other hand, Chael Sonnen was brought over to the UFC from the WEC and has went 3-1 in his four fights. About the time Anderson Silva has started playing games instead of fighting, Sonnen became extremely vocal about the situation. His trash talking rings of the little brother trying to incite his big brother into a rumble.

It will be interesting to see what Silva does when Sonnen pushes the pace. Sonnen has won three in a row, which includes a complete domination of Nate Marquardt. Sonnen is tough as nails and isn’t afraid to express it physically or verbally. He has won ten of his last twelve and actually believes he is the one to end Silva’s reign. If Silva takes him lightly, Sonnen might be right. Sonnen likes to ride fights out and wear down his opponents until he grinds out the decision.

That’s the match for the middleweight championship…

Chemistry, perhaps that’s the key to winning a Super Bowl.

Or is it defense? A hot shot quarterback with reliable receivers? The wildcat? Those are just some of the questions NFL teams are trying to answer as they prepare for the 2010 NFL football season in a few months.

That’s probably why some of these teams are signing names here and there to get that perfect combination they are hoping will win them the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals, for instance, have scheduled a visit with Chargers quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, a restricted free agent, as they explore adding depth as well as potential competition for Matt Leinart for that QB spot.

If the Cardinals sign Whitehurst and the Chargers decline to match the offer, Arizona would owe San Diego a third-round draft pick, which is the qualifying contract tender that was used on the quarterback, who was a third-round choice in 2006. That tender is worth $1,176,000 for the 2010 season.

The Cardinals have two third-round draft choices next month, having acquired Baltimore’s third- and fourth-round picks in a deal that sent wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the Ravens.

Leinart is the only quarterback currently under contract on the Cardinals’ roster.

On the other hand, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has agreed to re-sign reserve defensive back Leigh Torrence to a one-year contract.

Torrence has been with the Saints since being claimed off waivers in…

What else is new right?

In case you didn’t know, the Denver Broncos made another offseason move with the addition of Brady Quinn for the 2010 NFL football season. The Broncos acquired the former first-round draft pick from the Cleveland Browns for fullback Peyton Hillis, a 2011 sixth-round draft pick and a conditional pick in 2012.

The big question the Denver Broncos are trying to answer now is who will get the starting nod from coach Josh McDaniels? Will it still be Kyle Orton or newly acquired Brady Quinn? Quinn’s departure comes one day after the Browns agreed to terms with free agent Jake Delhomme on a two-year contract. Quinn went 3-9 in 12 starts for Cleveland , which drafted him with the 22nd pick in the first round in 2007 out of Notre Dame.

Quinn won Cleveland’s starting job last season, but was benched after 2 1/2 games for Derek Anderson. Quinn eventually got his job back when Anderson struggled but he was hindered by inaccuracy. He completed only 53 percent of his passes last season for 1,339 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. His rating was 67.3.

Interestingly, the Broncos reportedly pursued Brady Quinn last season when they were trying to replace Jay Cutler. Instead, they dealt Cutler to Chicago for a bevy of draft picks and Orton, who beat out Chris Simms for the starting job in June.

The Denver Broncos said that they are satisfied with the work of Orton, who led the Broncos to a 6-2 start before a 2-6 finish kept them out of the playoffs for a fourth straight season. This marked…

They shouldn’t, but they sure are heavily talking about it these days.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of things to decide on before starting the 2010 NFL football season. One of which is whether they will trade quarterback Donovan McNabb. As rumors begin to circulate regarding the future of McNabb, the Eagles have been reluctant to do any moves for now.

Donovan McNabb has been the heart and soul of the Philadelphia Eagles for years. McNabb has proven to be a solid NFL quarterback but has never won the ”Big One” despite being in NFC championship games five times including a consistent four-year run from 2001 to 2004.

While Donovan McNabb has shown above-average statistics, he has no Super Bowl wins and has only won the NFC championship game once in those five attempts. This lack of success has caused controversy among Philadelphia football fans and across the NFL.

McNabb is certainly no stranger to controversy. When he was selected with the second pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, Philadelphia fans were disappointed because they wanted University of Texas running back Rickey Williams.

In 2003, McNabb was the subject of controversial comments made by…

Peyton Manning, Pierre Garcon, Drew Brees and Reggie Bush, these guys are probably your prime candidates to win Super Bowl MVP this Sunday.

EA Sports and John Madden looked into their crystal ball and did all bettors a favor by letting them know not only the outcome of Super Bowl XLIV, but the simulated video game they ran also pegged the MVP.

I feel sorry for all of those who already bet on someone other than Drew Brees, as it was none other than the New Orleans Saints quarterback who won the award in the simulated Super Bowl in Madden NFL 10.

Online sportsbooks like SPORTSBETTING.com have had the Super Bowl MVP prop betting option up for over a week now. It is always one of the more popular options for the sports betting public. And with the big game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints just around the corner, this is probably your last chance to make your pick.

Madden NFL 10’s Super Bowl MVP, Drew Brees, is currently the second most popular option with bettors, sitting right behind, as you might expect, Peyton Manning. Sportsbooks are currently reporting Manning with 34 percent of all the MVP betting action.

When it comes to MVP betting, QBs are usually a decent choice…

Because once he gets drafted to the Browns, the Lions or the Bills, winning will soon be just a pigment of his imagination.

The future stars of the 2010 NFL Draft class will take the field for the 61^st Under Armour Senior Bowl on Saturday January 30, 2010. This will give them NFL scouts an opportunity to evaluate these talents further and finally decide who’ll be that one guy who can finally save their godforsaken franchise.

One of the players to watch out is Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow accepted the challenge to play in the Under Armour Senior Bowl by officially accepting an invitation to the senior showcase event.

Aside from Tebow, three other signal callers will participate in the Under Armour Senior Bowl. Oregon State’s Sean Canfield, Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour and Cincinnati’s Tony Pike have all accepted invitations to the 2010 game.

Sean Canfield earned first team All-Pac-10 honors his senior season after throwing for 3,271 yards and 21 touchdowns. His 251.6 passing yards per game was tops in the Pac-10 and he ranked second in the league in passing efficiency at 141.9. He led the Beavers to an 8 and 5 record and Las Vegas Bowl appearance this season while setting the school mark for completion…

You just know you’ll read through this, unless your a Raiders fan who could care less who wins it this year.

For anyone that pays attention to NFL power rankings throughout the season, the writing for this matchup has been on the wall for months. As I’m sure you’ve all heard, Indianapolis will meet New Orleans in Super Bowl XLIV and for a lot of bettors it truly is the two teams that most deserve to be in the show.

Online sportsbooks have the current line at Indianapolis Colts -6 with a Total of 56. Once the opening line was posted, money showed up quickly on the favored Indianapolis Colts at SPORTSBETTING.com. The Colts continued to be the side most players were looking at, as over the fist couple of days of wagering action 70 percent of the money is on Peyton Manning and crew. The line has moved to -6. The Over/Under betting volume has been pretty balanced, with a slight lean to the Over

Indianapolis was 14-0 before sitting Peyton Manning down in a Week 16 loss to the New York Jets while New Orleans went 13-0 before heading into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak. Looking at results from the past two weeks it appears that for coaches Caldwell and Peyton, this was all part of the master plan.

The Indianapolis Colts made things up to their fans with wins over Baltimore and the Jets.

In the Big Easy, the New Orleans Saints returned to their regular season ways, averaging 38 points per game in wins against Arizona and Minnesota to earn the trip to Miami to play for the Super Bowl against the Colts. This will be the first time since 1993 that two No.1 seeds have met in the Super Bowl.

Manning’s offense is capable of moving the ball against…

Yes, another ”where will LBJ go in 2010” talk.

We’re not even halfway into the 2010 NBA basketball season and yet, people are already trying to figure out where will LeBron James end up once the biggest name in pro hoops land on the 2010 free agency market.

Will LeBron James resign with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Will he finally move to New York? Will he really play for the Cleveland Browns? Well, if he wants to be a world champion, then Miami should be the place he should move to.

Sure, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed more talent this year in hopes of luring James back once the season is over but the fact of the matter is, he won’t win anything in Cleveland. Unless the Cavaliers really get hot soon, their performance at this point of the season really makes you think if that franchise is really motivated to win championships.

The Miami Heat, on the other hand, is probably the team that could give him the best shot at a title. Heck, they already won one when Dwyane Wade was still rolling with Shaq. And if by some stroke of luck that the Heat franchise manages to put Wade and LBJ on one roster, you can just imagine how many championships those two guys can get.

The fact that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are the best of friends only makes James’ probable union with Wade in Miami all the more possible. And if LeBron wants to finally be rid of powerhouse teams like Orlando and Boston in the playoffs, he needs another superstar for a teammate like D-Wade to get the job done.

Sure, the Cavs got James Shaquille O’Neal this season. Now if…