The latest from theadvertiser.com - Sports:

• Defending the title
  The New Orleans Saints play their first regular season game as reigning Super Bowl champions tonight. Their first Super Bowl championship banner will be unfurled.

• ASU has Cajuns focused
  There's nothing like facing a conference rival to keep you from feeling sorry for yourself.

• Ridley starting for now
  BATON ROUGE — Despite two critical fumbles that nearly cost LSU its game against North Carolina Saturday, tailback Stevan Ridley is still considered the starter for Saturday night's game at Vanderbilt.

• Lafayette High sweeps Teurlings
  Lafayette High coach Cathy Poole knew what she wanted to see from her Lady Lions on Wednesday, and she got it as her squad swept visiting Teurlings Catholic 25-17, 25-17, 25-22 to improve to 3-1 on the young volleyball season.

• Fleming will miss Saturday's game after all
  After breaking his left hand early in the second quarter of UL's 55-7 loss last week at Georgia, senior middle linebacker Grant Fleming will miss Saturday's Sun Belt Conference opener against Arkansas State.

• Baker making trip to Vandy
  BATON ROUGE — Starting outside linebacker Ryan Baker will make the trip to Nashville, Tenn., Friday for the Vanderbilt game Saturday night, LSU coach Les Miles said Wednesday.

• Port Barre looks to regain edge on Westminster
  The Port Barre-Westminster game has developed into quite a rivalry in the past few years.

• Vikings seek revenge
  NEW ORLEANS — 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."

• Saints-Vikings series
  

• Bush: Heisman issue 'out of my hands'
  METAIRIE — Reggie Bush declined to go into any detail Wednesday on what he knows about the status of his 2005 Heisman Trophy.