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Brett Favre is back as the Vikings and the Saints open the N.F.L. season Thursday night.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Saints’ first Super Bowl title was so big in New Orleans that Mardi Gras, a revered local institution dating back well more than a century, became popularly known as, ”Lombardi Gras.”

MIAMI (Reuters) - The last time the New Orleans Saints played at their home venue, the Louisiana Superdome, they won the NFC championship after battering and bruising Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre.

MIAMI (Reuters) - They became the new ‘America’s team’, winning hearts by taking a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina to Super Bowl glory, but the New Orleans Saints know just how tough a repeat performance is in the NFL.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — All-Pro safety Darren Sharper’s goal of helping the Saints compete for a second consecutive championship remains intact, even if it isn’t working out quite as he’d planned.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints may have plucked another exciting young running back from the ranks of the undrafted.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — If coach Sean Payton is to breathe easier during the Saints’ next game, special teams coordinator Greg McMahon will have to make measurable progress with his kickoff and punt coverage teams.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Playing in the Superdome for the first time since the NFC championship game last season, New Orleans’ high-powered offense picked up where it left off, rolling over the Houston Texans 38-20 Saturday night.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The competition for New Orleans’ third running back spot could get more intense in the next few days.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — A new season, a different result, a lot of improvement left for the Super Bowl champions to make.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints are leaving New England after losing their punter, a running back and their exhibition opener.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New Orleans Saints play for the first time since their Super Bowl triumph when they help launch a busy five days of NFL pre-season games Thursday.

After two days of scrimmages against each other, the Saints and Patriots get started on the real thing — well, almost — when they meet Thursday night.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Reggie Bush returned to practice after missing one session with cramps, and he might have become even more important for the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints on Wednesday.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — One championship may be just the start for the New Orleans Saints. They’re studying how the New England Patriots kept winning NFL titles, hoping to match that domination.

Mr. Dixon, the longtime owner of a French Quarter shop, pursued pro football for New Orleans since the late 1950s.His efforts led to an expansion team in 1967.