Öffentlicher Bereich » . Ajayi had just 45 yards on 18 carries

NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees hopes the world watches what happens in and around the Superdome on Monday night.As the Saints host the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans will mark the 10-year anniversary of the reopening of the hulking, 73,000-seat stadium on Sept. 25, 2006, following its unprecedented 10-month restoration from extensive damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.Brees figures coverage of the game will resonate with people he met this summer from flood-ravaged areas of West Virginia, when the Saints held training camp there -- or with Louisiana residents whose communities around Baton Rouge were inundated last month.So many of those people, right when it happens to you, just cant fathom ever being able to come back from that, Brees said. New Orleans is a great example and symbol of how it can come back when you have this community that bands together and continues to press on.The handful of current Saints who were on the team in 2006 -- Brees, right guard Jahri Evans, right tackle Zach Strief and safety Roman Harper -- dont anticipate an atmosphere as electric and cathartic as a decade ago. Several said it would be impossible to contrive the raw, communal emotion that poured forth during a game played just 13 months after Katrina had transformed a community renowned for its joie de vivre into a sea of devastation.And nothing could replicate the thunderous, drink-spilling frenzy that erupted when then-special teams standout Steve Gleason blocked a punt that Curtis Deloatch recovered for a Saints touchdown. That play -- widely regarded as the most memorable in franchise history -- is immortalized in a statue just outside the dome.Still, they expect this Monday night to be special in its own way.As you begin to highlight the specific elements around New Orleans that have come back even stronger than they were prior to the storm, thats a great story to tell, Brees said. Its a very uplifting story.The Superdome, one of Americas most famous sporting arenas long before Katrina, became a poignant symbol of destruction, suffering and loss when Katrina hit. Its expansive white roof was torn up, exposing evacuees inside to falling debris and water pouring in -- all while rising water in surrounding streets turned the stadiums elevated public plaza into an island of desperation.It took nearly four days to evacuate more than 30,000 people who took refuge at the stadium. They spent three-plus days in increasingly squalid, dank conditions after plumbing and power systems failed. The air was hot, heavy and stifling, overpowering the senses with the stench of perspiration, backed-up sewage, and festering mildew and mold.Doug Thornton, a New Orleans-based executive for SMG, which manages the Superdome, was in the stadium until those stranded were evacuated by bus or helicopter.Thornton recalled feeling helpless and so sorrowful as he left the dome and boarded a helicopter, which flew over his own devastated neighborhood near the breached 17th Street Canal.Then I looked back over my shoulder and saw the dome in the background and could see the water glistening for miles, Thornton said. I saw that roof ripped apart and I knew what Id left behind and I couldnt imagine that we could ever recover.Thornton figured the dome might be a demolition candidate. Architects later advised him it could be saved. Then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue informed Thornton that the league wanted the stadium restored enough for football by the 2006 season, which would require crews working long hours, six to seven days a week.The Saints played their home preseason games in Jackson, Mississippi, and Shreveport, Louisiana. They opened the 2006 regular season with two road games, winning both, further fueling excitement about the domes reopening.Players already had gotten a sense of how unique their home opener would be two nights before the game, when coach Sean Payton brought players to the dome for a walk-through. Payton gathered players near midfield to watch a short video which featured residents rebuilding amid devastated streetscapes, welcoming the Saints home and thanking them for being back.Forget sports for a while. Theres a period of time where just life as New Orleanians knew it, or Louisiana residents knew it -- how would that be affected? Payton recalled this week. So you have this event that coincides with the opening of an area that was used to shelter people. There were a ton of things that were unreal about it.Evans said the Saints were moved by the video and the hardship theyd witnessed around town.We wanted to play hard. We wanted to play tough, Evans said. We wanted to give the fans something to be proud of.Rock bands U2 and Green Day, eager to celebrate the rebirth of a city with a renowned musical history, joined to sing The Saints Are Coming in a Super Bowl-like production before the game.Thornton, whod noticed some fans crying as they entered the dome, said he wept, too, when the music began. When the house lights went down, the lighting was similar to when the building was on emergency power during the storm. Thornton noticed he was standing near the same section he and his staff had scurried people out of when the roof tore open above it during Katrina.I saw these people standing and cheering, Thornton recalled, and all could visualize were people huddled under blankets shielding themselves from the rain.Strief was not in uniform that night, but was on the sideline.Usually in a game like that, the attention and focus and importance in that building is on the field -- and it wasnt that night, Strief said. The people in there that night were a bigger deal.Brees and Strief said they remember the sound of the blocked punt -- the ball squarely hitting Gleasons hand. Brees compared it to a shotgun blast, followed the crowd roaring so loud, Strief said, that you could feel physically the energy and the noise.Gleason, who retired in 2008, was diagnosed several years later with ALS, or Lou Gehrigs Disease, which causes paralysis. Now he uses a wheelchair and is perhaps known more globally for his activism on behalf of those stricken with neuromuscular diseases than he was for football.Yet his punt block that cemented his place in New Orleans lore. He was popular before Katrina because of how he embraced New Orleans. He was dating a local woman who he would ultimately marry. And as he sat at his locker after the game, he said the play gave him infinite joy.Sometimes, people think the future of New Orleans is in doubt, and were just here to help people create a bright future, Gleason said that night. Ive got a lot of connections here. Ive got people here that I know and love, and that was our goal, is to come out, man, and provide joy for those people -- and thats exactly what we did.It cant get any better than that, Gleason continued, and Im just real grateful that I could be a part of it.----AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Nike Air Force Παιδικα . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Nike Air Force Γυναικεια . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. http://www.airforce1greece.com/ . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Nike Air Force Ανδρικα . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Nike Air Force Φθηνα . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Ever since the season opener, the results for the San Francisco 49ers havent changed each week: 10 straight losses for the worst skid in franchise history.With the playoffs, a winning record and just about any positive now officially out of reach this season, the 49ers (1-10) are left searching for any signs of progress that could provide optimism for the struggling franchise.Colin Kaepernick provided just that in Sundays 31-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Kaepernick threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns, ran for 113 yards more and nearly led a late game-tying drive before being tackled at the 2 on the final play in a performance that looked like a flashback at times to when he emerged as one of the NFLs top young quarterbacks in 2012 and `13.Hes made a progression from game to game where you see improvement from him, which is what youre looking for, coach Chip Kelly said on a conference call Monday. I think that part of it is positive. I think in all facets, its not just one facet where its just this and this is all hes done. Its in everything; his pocket presence, his accuracy, understanding and knowledge of protections.Kaepernicks struggles last season led to his benching midway through the year and then he struggled with injuries all offseason. With his practice time limited, Kaepernick was beaten out for the starting job by Blaine Gabbert before regaining it last month against Buffalo.After struggling his first two starts when he completed just 46 percent of his passes and had a 66.2 rating, Kaepernick has stepped it up since the bye week. He has completed 59.3 percent of his passes the past four games for 1,110 yards, eight TDs, two interceptions and a 96 rating. He has also rushed for 223 yards in that span, averaging 7.7 yards per carry.Despite gaining at least 475 yards for the second time in four games, the Niners were unable to translate that into a big scoring output. Garrett Celek lost a fumble in the red zone, San Francisco settled for a field goal on another drive inside the Miami 20 and then the final drive was stopped 2 yards short of a tying touchdown.ddddddddddddIm just disappointed in how we really hurt ourselves in that game, Kelly said. On the drives that we were stopped, all but one of them I think were our fault. We had the fumble in the red zone and then a couple times the penalties put us back, put us in long yardage situations, so it was tough to get out of those. But, I thought the offense did a nice job. You just wish with 475 yards of offense youd have more than 24 points.The other good sign for San Francisco has been an improving run defense. After allowing a 100-yard rusher in an NFL-record seven straight games, the Niners have been stouter on defense in recent weeks.They held David Johnson and Arizona to 80 yards rushing on Nov. 13 and then bottled up Jay Ajayi on Sunday. Ajayi had just 45 yards on 18 carries, far below the 137 yards rushing he had averaged over the previous five games.But it wasnt enough as Ryan Tannehill threw for 285 yards and three scores, including a 43-yarder to Kenny Stills.I thought our run defense played well yesterday, Kelly said. When you hold Ajayi to 45 yards, one of the premier backs coming in, I think our guys did a good job. I thought they tackled well by and large, but there were some, I think on the negative side, some of the pass-coverage stuff. Weve got to do a better job just contesting balls. There were guys there, but we need to make a play on the ball when its in the air.Game notes The 49ers arrived in Orlando on Sunday night and will stay there before traveling to Chicago before Sundays game against the Bears. ... LB Shayne Skov had an MRI on his injured knee but Kelly did not have the results. ... The 49ers signed RB Raheem Mostert to the practice squad and released RB Kelvin Taylor from the practice squad.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '