And this final note. The New Orleans Saints were marched to the woodshed today. The National Football League suspended Coach Sean Payton for a year without pay and fined the team half a million dollars as punishment for a bounty program that paid bonuses to players for injuring opponents.

ESPN reports the suspension will cost Payton some $7.5 million; The Saints’ general manager was suspended for eight games; and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who is now with the St. Louis Rams, was suspended indefinitely.

The league said payoffs included 1,500 for “knockouts” that took opposing players out of games. Bad voo-doo for the city that’s hosting next year’s Super Bowl.