No offense to the Chargers, but couldn't New Orleans use those home games a little bit more than San Diego? Particularly just a couple years after the Saints practically played every game on the road anyway? One Saints fan puts it a little stronger.

Now, you are taking a home game away from the Superdome, the Shrine, the Sacredome, the fans who gave you the loudest game in NFL history? Way to build that goodwill, fuckers.

It does seem like a strange decision, doesn't it? Having the Buzzsaw be the host for a Mexico City game makes sense, but New Orleans the home team in London? Hmm.

Eff You, NFL [Ashley Morris]

Hey, a hole Reggie Bush can hit!

April 11 and 12 will find the Louisiana Superdome interior turned into a pink and red vagina — "with a big vagina entrance," Ensler said — as a setting for performance events, parties, parades, workshops, wellness and education programs, speakers, even spa treatments, which will be free to residents of New Orleans and the Gulf South. (Men are excluded only from the spa.)

For those two days, New Orleans will be "the Vagina Capital of America," Ensler said. "We're coming here to say that we should celebrate New Orleans, cherish it, protect it, just as we do our vaginas, and make sure it goes on and on."

We couldn't think of a more appropriate post to fill Daulerio's usual Friday slot. We miss him already.

What Is The Vagina Of America? [Feministing]

We're more curious about the actual effect the Saints' upset win over the Panthers will have on the city of New Orleans. ESPN's Len Pasquarelli seems to think so, detailing a letter New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin wrote Saints coach Jim Haslett, though, curiously, omitting the details of what it said. (Did he ask for a win? A couple bucks? A tissue?) We still find it hard to understand how excited New Orleans refugees can be about the success of a football team that not only represents a town that isn't there anymore, but probably won't even come back if the city does ever rebuild. We know we everyone's rooting for the Saints, and we know it has been difficult for their players. But we just think cheering for the Saints and cheering for New Orleans are two very different things, and somewhere out there, someone who hasn't done anything actually valuable to help will somehow convince themselves that rooting for the Saints counts as a good deed. It doesn't.

Saints Win Emotional Opener [ESPN]
The Monstrosity of Leaving the Big Easy [Deadspin]

Thing is, though: We need a little visit from the Backstory Fairy. The backstory is that Saints owner Tom Benson has been threatening to move the team to San Antonio — where he has many business interests; why, yes, one of those businesses is used cars, how did you know? — for years if the city of New Orleans didn't build him a new football stadium. Considering the odds of New Orleans paying for a millionaire's new toy right now are about the odds of them erecting a statue of President Bush, and considering Benson's already-cloying private remarks to a Louisiana senator about the feasibility of a permanent San Antonio solution, well ... the man could be on the cusp of the asshole owner move to end all asshole owner moves.

And wouldn't you know it: The city is already calling him on it. In an editorial in the online Times-Picayune, the paper demands Benson announce right now that the Saints will stay in New Orleans.

It is difficult to believe Mr. Benson would want to leave, despite reports to the contrary. He has talked in recent months about how much he loves New Orleans, about his desire to stay here, and we take him at his word.

Before Katrina, Saints fans wanted their team to stay. Now they need it to stay.

Your move, Benson: You a hero, or a monster? Very rare does a public decision reveal the former or the latter so definitively.

Please Don't Go, Mr. Benson [NOLA]
Two Cities Likely To Split Saints [Washington Post]
Superdome Will Have To Be Torn Down [CNN]

The NFL rarely drops the ball when it comes to public relations, so it was a shock when Adam Schefter reported Monday on the NFL Network that the league didn t foresee problems with the Saints playing their home opener at the Louisiana Superdome on September 18 despite the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

At the time of the report, New Orleans was under rising flood waters that continue to climb at this moment. The Superdome is currently home to anywhere from 15,000-30,000 refugees with no other place to go. The city s mayor said on TV Tuesday night that despite a situation in the dome that is devolving towards chaos, those encamped their may have to remain for another week. There are two large holes in the roof, and the entire outer covering was ripped off by the storm. The city may not have fully restored electricity for 8-12 weeks. But no problem the NFL thinks it can play a game there in under three.

The Outsiders bring up another great point; Saints owner Tom Benson had been lobbying his city to build him a new stadium, or he might move the team to Los Angeles. We somehow doubt the city has enough cash lying around right now to oblige him.

NFC South: Four Downs [Football Outsiders]

Chaos In New Orleans [MSNBC]
New Orleans Trades Refugees To Houston [Deadspin]

Several alternatives are out there, like playing on LSU's campus in Baton Rouge or even at the Texans' Reliant Stadium, which doesn't seem to make sense but certainly made for some good PR for the Houston Texans. The last time a team played a whole season away from home was the 2002 Chicago Bears, who played at Illinois' Memorial Stadium in Champaign. That team had a terrible season, but at least they didn't need water wings.

Baton Rouge May Open Doors To The Saints [USA Today]
Reliant Makes Offer To Host Saints [Houston Chronicle]

Dome Is Hot And Filthy [MSNBC]

"I could have stayed at home and watched my roof blow off," said one of the refugees, Harald Johnson, 43. "Instead, I came down here and watched the Superdome roof blow off. It's no big deal; getting wet is not like dying."

Hurricane Tears Roof Off Superdome [AP]

The Saints, because they're full of wealthy football players, were able to get out of town yesterday. One wonders if their stadium will be there when they return.

Seeking Refuge In Superdome [Bismark Tribune]
Saints Head To Northern California [San Jose Mercury News]