our drive, the cost of a hotel and buying tickets here instead

NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees hopes the world watches what happens in and around the Superdome on Monday night.As the Saints host the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans will mark the 10-year anniversary of the reopening of the hulking, 73,000-seat stadium on Sept. 25, 2006, following its unprecedented 10-month restoration from extensive damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.Brees figures coverage of the game will resonate with people he met this summer from flood-ravaged areas of West Virginia, when the Saints held training camp there -- or with Louisiana residents whose communities around Baton Rouge were inundated last month.So many of those people, right when it happens to you, just cant fathom ever being able to come back from that, Brees said.New Orleans is a great example and symbol of how it can come back when you have this community that bands together and continues to press on.The handful of current Saints who were on the team in 2006 -- Brees, right guard Jahri Evans, right tackle Zach Strief and safety Roman Harper -- dont anticipate an atmosphere as electric and cathartic as a decade ago.Several said it would be impossible to contrive the raw, communal emotion that poured forth during a game played just 13 months after Katrina had transformed a community renowned for its joie de vivre into a sea of devastation.And nothing could replicate the thunderous, drink-spilling frenzy that erupted when then-special teams standout Steve Gleason blocked a punt that Curtis Deloatch recovered for a Saints touchdown. That play -- widely regarded as the most memorable in franchise history -- is immortalized in a statue just outside the dome.Still, they expect this Monday night to be special in its own way.As you begin to highlight the specific elements around New Orleans that have come back even stronger than they were prior to the storm, thats a great story to tell, Brees said. Its a very uplifting story.The Superdome, one of Americas most famous sporting arenas long before Katrina, became a poignant symbol of destruction, suffering and loss when Katrina hit.Its expansive white roof was torn up, exposing evacuees inside to falling debris and water pouring in -- all while rising water in surrounding streets turned the stadiums elevated public plaza into an island of desperation.It took nearly four days to evacuate more than 30,000 people who took refuge at the stadium. They spent three-plus days in increasingly squalid, dank conditions after plumbing and power systems failed.The air was hot, heavy and stifling, overpowering the senses with the stench of perspiration, backed-up sewage, and festering mildew and mold.Doug Thornton, a New Orleans-based executive for SMG, which manages the Superdome, was in the stadium until those stranded were evacuated by bus or helicopter.Thornton recalled feeling helpless and so sorrowful as he left the dome and boarded a helicopter, which flew over his own devastated neighborhood near the breached 17th Street Canal.Then I looked back over my shoulder and saw the dome in the background and could see the water glistening for miles, Thornton said. I saw that roof ripped apart and I knew what Id left behind and I couldnt imagine that we could ever recover.Thornton figured the dome might be a demolition candidate. Architects later advised him it could be saved.Then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue informed Thornton that the league wanted the stadium restored enough for football by the 2006 season, which would require crews working long hours, six to seven days a week.The Saints played their home preseason games in Jackson, Mississippi, and Shreveport, Louisiana. They opened the 2006 regular season with two road games, winning both, further fueling excitement about the domes reopening.Players already had gotten a sense of how unique their home opener would be two nights before the game, when coach Sean Payton brought players to the dome for a walk-through.Payton gathered players near midfield to watch a short video which featured residents rebuilding amid devastated streetscapes, welcoming the Saints home and thanking them for being back.Forget sports for a while. Theres a period of time where just life as New Orleanians knew it, or Louisiana residents knew it -- how would that be affected? Payton recalled this week.So you have this event that coincides with the opening of an area that was used to shelter people. There were a ton of things that were unreal about it.Evans said the Saints were moved by the video and the hardship theyd witnessed around town.We wanted to play hard. We wanted to play tough, Evans said. We wanted to give the fans something to be proud of.Rock bands U2 and Green Day, eager to celebrate the rebirth of a city with a renowned musical history, joined to sing The Saints Are Coming in a Super Bowl-like production before the game.Thornton, whod noticed some fans crying as they entered the dome, said he wept, too, when the music began. When the house lights went down, the lighting was similar to when the building was on emergency power during the storm.Thornton noticed he was standing near the same section he and his staff had scurried people out of when the roof tore open above it during Katrina.I saw these people standing and cheering, Thornton recalled, and all I could visualize were people huddled under blankets shielding themselves from the rain.Strief was not in uniform that night, but was on the sideline.Usually in a game like that, the attention and focus and importance in that building is on the field -- and it wasnt that night, Strief said. The people in there that night were a bigger deal.Brees and Strief said they remember the sound of the blocked punt -- the ball squarely hitting Gleasons hand. Brees compared it to a shotgun blast, followed the crowd roaring so loud, Strief said, that you could feel physically the energy and the noise.Gleason, who retired in 2008, was diagnosed several years later with ALS, or Lou Gehrigs Disease, which causes paralysis. Now he uses a wheelchair and is perhaps known more globally for his activism on behalf of those stricken with neuromuscular diseases than he was for football.Yet his punt block cemented his place in New Orleans lore. He was popular before Katrina because of how he embraced New Orleans. He was dating a local woman who he would ultimately marry. And as he sat at his locker after the game, he said the play gave him infinite joy.Sometimes, people think the future of New Orleans is in doubt, and were just here to help people create a bright future, Gleason said that night.Ive got a lot of connections here. Ive got people here that I know and love, and that was our goal, is to come out, man, and provide joy for those people -- and thats exactly what we did.It cant get any better than that, Gleason continued, and Im just real grateful that I could be a part of it.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Mets Jerseys 2020 . LUCIE, Fla. Mets Jerseys 2019 . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/ . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Wholesale Mets Jerseys . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. New York Mets Store . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Chicago won its first World Series since 1908 in a dramatic Game 7 that featured a little bit of everything.Shirtless J.R. spurs Indians rallyThe Indians trailed for most of Game 7, but they got a little motivation in the form of Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith pumping up the Progressive Field crowd by taking his shirt off.Shortly after, the game was tied on a Rajai Davis two-run homer.?The reaction in Wrigleyville was predictable.LeBron James reaction? Much more upbeat.Before the home run, the Indians Twitter account predicted what was going to happen.?What hasnt Game 7 given us?I cant imagine being a Cubs or Indians fan right now. Are they still alive? Have they all crawled under their beds or couches, hiding from the obvious wrath of the baseball gods, who have decided to torture both fan bases with this rain delay? Im just surprised were not seeing hail and lightning.This game has veered so far off-script, its gone beyond crazy to complete insanity. Corey Kluber got rocked. Andrew Miller got rocked. Aroldis Chapman got rocked. Weve had bad errors, bad baserunning, bad wild pitches, bad throws, a bad bunt attempt on a potential go-ahead safety squeeze in the ninth inning and now bad weather.Given everything at stake for these two franchises, I think this will go down as the greatest game ever played ... and we dont even know the ending yet!-- David SchoenfieldAs the clock strikes midnight ...With the game going into a rain delay in extra innings, Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen had some thoughts for his coach.Meanwhile, other teams had some thoughts about the delay ...Ross aims to exit in styleThe Cubs 39-year-old catcher David Ross entered the game in the fifth inning and homered in the top of the sixth to extend the Cubs lead. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Ross is the oldest player ever to homer in Game 7 of the World Series.During an appearance on MLB Network Radio back in November 2015, Ross said the 2016 seasson was probably going to be it for me.ddddddddddddIn the hours before Game 7, some of his Cubs teammates huddled on the field to celebrate the veteran.There are also bats with a Bitmoji version of Ross face on the handle.Is this Wrigley East?Progressive Field and the entire city of Cleveland have been overrun by Cubs fans. Walking around the city Wednesday, you saw Cubs fans everywhere. In the ballpark, it has been no different.When possible plays that can be reviewed go on the scoreboard, a roar goes out in the crowd, but it is unclear if it is because the screen shows good news for the Cubs or the Indians. It is at least 50-50 among Cubs and Indians fans.There seems to be a simple reason. First, the Cubs are trying to break a 108-year-old curse, and apparently, when you add up the five-hour drive, the cost of a hotel and buying tickets here instead of Chicago, it is not a bad deal.Meanwhile, the Indians fans got a little something to cheer about, as they flashed Charlie Sheen on the big board and played Wild Thing. Sheen played Ricky Vaughn in Major League.-- Andrew MarchandMeanwhile, in the NBA?Dexter Fowler leaves Mrs. Fowler speechlessCubs outfielder Dexter Fowler started Game 7 by becoming the first player to lead off a winner-take-all World Series game with a home run, according to ESPN Stats & Info.The solo home run sparked a comical back-and-forth between the Cubs Twitter account and Fowlers wife, Darya Aliya Fowler.The Cleveland spirit extends to the police ... and horsesThe Cleveland police outfitted themselves (and some horses) with Indians garb ahead of Game 7.Born into itWill these Cleveland-born babies bring good luck to the Indians??No ticket, no problemSo you werent lucky enough to?run into Bill Murray on the street? This viewing party outside Progressive Field might be the next best option. ' ' '