Hurricane Gustav, at last measure, will bear down on the weakened New Orleans support structures Monday.  Mayor Ray Nagin has done all he seemingly can to chase people out of the city; the residents of southern Louisiana seem to be listening to him and Governor Bobby Jindal.

However, Gustav’s arrival will have a ripple effect well outside its meteorlogical ones.  The Saints have already moved out of town for the week with an eye on possibly playing games away from home to start the season.

The Republican GOP convention (to be held in the Twin Cities) has even considered delaying the start of their party or turning the whole event into a telethon if funds are needed in New Orelans (or it would look garish to smile at the time).

At this moment, the Minnesota Twins are on a 14-game, 15-day road trip in part to avoid the convention.  (It’s being held in the Wolves’ kennel, not the Metrodome, but there’s only so many hotel rooms and roads/bridges to go around.)  They return Friday to play the Tigers in their first home set in over two weeks.  Or do they?
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Everyone outside the Beltway knows that most of us could give a damn about politics, and for good reason. That includes the NFL, which realizes that its sport is much more interesting, exciting and educational than a political party’s convention.

So realizing that none of us will watch the GOP convention on September 4 if there is a conflict with the league’s season opener that night, the NFL is considering moving up the start time of the contest (which will feature the New York Giants). Read more…