#2 Draft Pick Reggie Bush Now a Saint

Bush 'ready to win some games' with Saints

Hands crammed into his tan suit, complemented by a gold-colored shirt — Big Easy, N'awlins Saints colors — Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush perhaps had an inkling he soon would become a city's relative savior when he took the stage at Radio City Music Hall shortly before the beginning of the NFL Draft.
Yet he wasn't certain.

After all, there was the legitimate hope among New York Jets fans that their team would find a way to swing a deal with the New Orleans Saints to obtain the No. 2 pick. It didn't happen.

The Jets indeed made overtures to the Saints, who wanted too much in return, according to a league official familiar with the negotiations.

Reggie Bush, however, seemed quite at peace with his soon-to-be new home. Not that New York wouldn't have been nice.

"Obviously, I'd love to play in New York — I could have made a lot of money in the marketing in New York," he said with a grin. "But it's just a blessing to be in this position and to be the No. 2 pick in the draft. ... I'm going to go down to New Orleans with an open mind, and we're ready to win some games."

The running back acknowledged the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.

"I feel like I could help possibly bring some smiles back to the faces of New Orleans," he said.

At Saints headquarters in Metairie, La., general manager Mickey Loomis said the team had considered parting with the selection.

"(But) when Reggie Bush became available," he said, "our appetite for trading was reduced considerably."

New Saints coach Sean Payton found a Friday night dinner at a New Orleans restaurant a bit more tasty after receiving word the Texans had announced they intended to select Mario Williams.

"Between the minestrone soup and the red fish," he said he fully began to enjoy the possibilities of what Bush could do for a club that recently acquired quarterback Drew Brees from the San Diego Chargers.

Houston began negotiations early last week with Bush's agent Joel Segal. Late last week, even when Texans general manager Charley Casserly said the team had decided to select either Bush or Williams, most draft analysts from USA TODAY to ESPN.com still believed Bush would be the choice.

But the running back continues to be embroiled in controversy over the financial dealings of his parents during his senior year at Southern California. The San Diego Union-Tribune obtained a letter that alleged Bush's parents received $100,000 in cash from investors in a sports marketing company that hoped to sign the running back. The Los Angeles Times reported that Bush's family was asked to give back the money after he signed with another agent. The Times reported Bush attended a settlement meeting between his parents and officials from the sports marketing firm.

The league notified several teams of the situation and information it had received. Casserly, however, said the pick strictly was "a football decision."

"Nothing regarding any allegations — and none of them have been proven yet — against Reggie Bush entered into the decision," Casserly told reporters at team headquarters. "For the record, I did talk to Reggie Bush on Wednesday afternoon; I did talk to his attorney on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon. In all of this conversation, they assured me that Reggie Bush was innocent of all allegations and had not done anything wrong. I asked very pointed questions; Reggie gave me very pointed answers and said that he was innocent of all charges."

Loomis, too, said the situation didn't figure into the Saints' decision.

"The league called four teams to talk specifically about the details behind that and the circumstance," he said. "We felt pretty comfortable that Reggie's involvement in that was minimal, if any. It didn't deter us from taking him."

Bush's parents and other family members who attended the draft declined to field questions.

Asked about the situation, Bush said, "In the end, everybody will see that we didn't do anything wrong."

Bush mania envelops Big Easy

Bush wasn't sure what to make of the rock-star ovation he got when he walked through the restaurant door on Sunday.

"As soon as I got in there, there was a bunch of fans screaming and yelling. I thought it was staged," Bush said during a television interview at the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic, recalling his visit a night earlier to one of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse's restaurants. "It's been great. Everyone I've run into has welcomed me. People here are so nice."

A few blocks away, Saints spokesman Greg Bensel was eating with a friend at the four-star Windsor Court hotel when he overheard chatter about Bush at a table behind him. He turned to see about a dozen people making a toast to the new Saints running back.

"And this is the Windsor Court. This isn't a sports bar. There was no TV on, no reference to Reggie anywhere," Bensel said.

Bush couldn't go anywhere without hearing chants of "Reggie! Reggie!" It even happened when he stepped out at the golf tournament in full view of fans surrounding the 18th green, who quickly recognized him and began the chant as a couple golfers were preparing to put out.

"There's always excitement about a No. 1 pick, but this is a little different," said Loomis, who dined out with Bush Saturday night. "People chanting spontaneously ... it was a little overwhelming how excited people were."

Recall the images of those discarded refrigerators on the sidewalk after Hurricane Katrina — the ones emanating that throat-stinging stench of maggot-ridden rot, the outside spray-painted with the warning, "Tom Benson inside."

Remember when fans here feared Benson, the longtime Saints owner, was about to abandon them for San Antonio in this historic city's worst moment?

Call it a misunderstanding. All has been forgiven, now that Bush mania is taking hold.

Benson got the reception of a conquering hero — high-fives aplenty — when he ventured into a crowd of die-hard fans attending festivities outside the team's suburban New Orleans headquarters during NFL Draft weekend.

And the closest thing to Saints-related graffiti to be seen was a handwritten "Bush" on the back of a Saints shirt worn by someone milling around at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on Saturday, only hours after the Saints made their first pick.

"The Superdome will sell out," predicted fan Art Sigur, a former St. Bernard Parish resident whose home was ruined during the storm. "It takes a lot to kill our spirit. Tom Benson almost did it right after the hurricane."

"We love him now, though," interjected fellow fan Claude Maher.

New Orleans was a small NFL market before the storm — even smaller now — but predictions of sellouts don't appear far-fetched.

The Saints ticket office was open during draft weekend. It was fully staffed and everyone was busy all day taking orders, said Mike Stanfield, Saints vice president of ticket and suite sales.

"It was big — really big," Stanfield said of weekend season ticket sales, although he didn't provide specifics. Single game tickets won't go on sale until later this year, "if there are any single game tickets left," he said.

Even before the draft, Saints executive Rita Benson LeBlanc, the owner's granddaughter, said sales were on pace with 2003, when the Saints set a franchise record for season tickets sold with about 54,000.

The team's commitment to return to New Orleans and play a full regular-season schedule in a repaired Superdome, combined with the free-agent signing Brees, already had generated excitement.

If everyone is healthy, the Saints will also line up running back Deuce McAllister and receivers Joe Horn and Donte Stallworth on offense. The addition of Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, gives New Orleans an explosive and dynamic player who can run, receive and return kicks with such scintillating speed and agility that many believe could make him the best player in a generation.

The last time the Saints drafted second overall, they took quarterback Archie Manning, whose family now has the status of de facto royalty in New Orleans.

"Obviously, he's a legend out here," said Bush, who said he has met the elder Manning. "Hopefully, I can do the same."

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March
•Reggie Bush Vows to Focus on Football

February
•Bush teams with Shaq to host All-Star charity event
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat
•Boonton man scores big with Super Bowl tickets
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat

Super Bowl Weekend
•OK!'s Guide to the Super Bowl Parties
•"Hannah" primed to claim Super Bowl weekend
•Paris Hilton, Ludacris party alongside 50 Cent at pre-game Super Bowl concert

January
•Reggie Bush Engaged to Kim Kardashian?

December
•Eagles vs. Saints Preview 12/23/07
•Bush Hoping to Play Against Eagles 12/18/07
•Cardinals 24, Saints 31
•Bush Out For the Year 12/12/07
•Falcons 14, Saints 34 12/10/07
•Falcons vs. Saints Preview 12/10/07
•Buccaneers 27, Saints 23 12/02/07
•Buccaneers vs. Saints Preview 12/02/07


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