Salon.com > Brett Martel

State Police: No evidence of Saints wiretapping

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:09:09 +0000

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmonson says his investigators have found no evidence at this time that the Saints or general manager Mickey Loomis rigged Superdome wiring so opposing coaches' radio communications could be intercepted.

Edmonson says state police investigators have run an extensive probe in conjunction with the FBI since the eavesdropping allegations surfaced in news reports in April. He says that after conducting numerous interviews, "there is no evidence that state laws have been violated."

Edmonson says he cannot comment on the status of related federal probes. He also says State Police will reopen their investigations if new allegations surface.

Loomis and the Saints have emphatically denied the allegations, and the Saints have hired the firm of former FBI director Louis Freeh to do its own investigation.

Mathieu’s captivating rise with LSU flames out

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 08:27:53 +0000

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU began taking steps this summer to dim the national spotlight on its most captivating star, Tyrann Mathieu, and downplayed "The Honey Badger" phenomenon that it so willingly promoted a season ago.

Mathieu, a 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist, was excluded from the LSU delegation at the Southeastern Conference's annual football media days in July.

Then, during the first nine days after the Tigers reported for August camp, coach Les Miles made Mathieu available only once, on LSU's media day last Tuesday, when every player is permitted to speak to reporters.

That turned out to be Mathieu's last chance to address the media in his white, purple and gold No. 7 LSU jersey.

On Friday, Mathieu was dismissed from LSU's football team for breaking an athletic department rule, a blow to the Tigers' national championship hopes three weeks before their season opener.

Miles knew from experience that Mathieu, despite his passion for football that energized teammates and coaches alike, was nonetheless prone to lapses in judgment.

Mathieu had been suspended for a game last season after testing positive for synthetic marijuana, and under LSU's drug policies, suspensions don't necessarily kick in until the second offense.

LSU’s Mathieu kicked off team for violating rules

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:31:02 +0000

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU has dismissed Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu from its football program for violating school and team rules.

The junior defensive back nicknamed Honey Badger was a surprising Heisman candidate last season as the Tigers won the Southeastern Conference championship and reached the BCS title game. LSU lost the championship 21-0 to Alabama.

At a news conference Friday, coach Les Miles would not specify the reason Mathieu was kicked off the team.

"We'll miss the guy," Miles said. "The football team's got to go on. We'll have to fill the void."

The Tigers enter this season as one of the favorites to reach the national championship game again. They are No. 1 in the coaches' preseason poll and expected to be right near the top of the AP college football poll when it is released Aug. 18.

Mathieu won the Bednarik Award as national defensive player of the year last season and was big-play machine at cornerback and on special teams. The All-American scored four touchdowns — two on punt returns and two on fumble returns — intercepted two passes and caused six fumbles and recovered four.

He was also suspended for a game last year for failing a drug test. The Tigers beat Auburn 45-10 without Mathieu.

Saints greeted by image of Payton’s glare

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 02:59:03 +0000

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The last thing Pierre Thomas expected to see was suspended head coach Sean Payton staring him down the moment he walked into the Saints' indoor field.

"My first word that came out of my mouth was, 'Wow.' Then I said, 'He's mad,'" Thomas said Friday evening, following the second practice of training camp. "That's the Payton look. He's not always mad, but he gives that look and says, 'Hey, I'm still watching you.'"

A massive mural of Payton's piercing pursed-lip, squinted-eye glare was quietly hung in the indoor field earlier in the day, and it greeted the entire team when rain forced practice indoors.

The mural also includes the phrase, "Do your job," which has become the unofficial motto of the club ever since Payton delivered those parting words before starting his season-long suspension in connection with the NFL's bounty investigation.

Assistant head coach Joe Vitt said about every assistant and player who has been with the club the previous six seasons has gotten that look.

"I can't duplicate it," said Vitt, who is handling head coaching duties in Payton's absence. "I tried to do it one time. The lips are pursed. The eyes are squinted. And he's looking right through the back of your head."