Ok, this is important shite...07:00 Sep 11 2005
Times Read: 895
By Mike Triplett
Staff writer
SAN ANTONIO - The Saints will lead off an
unprecedented "Monday Night Football" doubleheader against the New York Giants on Sept. 19, the NFL announced Monday.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in New Orleans on Sept. 18 but was moved to Giants Stadium in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's destruction. The game also was moved to Monday night because the New York Jets are hosting the Miami Dolphins in Giants Stadium on that Sunday.
The NFL plans to use the Monday night showcase to highlight the national hurricane relief effort, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said in a statement.
The Saints' game will kick off at 6:30 p.m and be televised nationally on ABC until 8 p.m.
At that time, the regularly scheduled Monday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins will be shown on ABC, while the remainder of the Saints-Giants game will be switched to ESPN - except in New York, Louisiana and selected hurricane-affected areas, where the Saints game will continue on ABC.
Fund-raising efforts will be intertwined with the broadcasts of both games.
"We appreciate the leadership of ABC and ESPN in helping us turn this particular Monday night into far more than a prime-time football doubleheader, making it part of the overall Gulf Coast relief effort," Tagliabue said in the statement. "The New Orleans Saints know the importance of rising to help meet the Gulf Coast's extraordinary challenges, and we salute them, too."
The Saints were neither excited nor openly critical about the league's decision to play their "home game" in New York's home stadium. Coach Jim Haslett off-handedly remarked that the commissioner "put us behind the 8-ball." By the end of this month, the team will have traveled to Oakland, Carolina, New York and Minnesota in consecutive weeks, while also moving its entire operation to San Antonio.
"But everything that's gone on with the city and with this football team the last two weeks, that's probably one of the least of our concerns is playing on the road an extra game," Haslett said. "We actually play pretty good on the road."
Information on ticket sales is expected to be announced by the Giants in the near future.
The Saints will still get the home team's share of the revenue from the game, though some exact details will still be worked out in the financial department. Both teams plan to donate a share of the revenue to relief efforts.
The fact that the Saints are doing ANYthing "unprecidented" is just flat amazing to me. heheh
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