Those of you who read CSC regularly know that I am a fan of Sports Illustrated and have had a subscription to the magazine for quite a while now. Every year at this time the good people over at SI put out their NFL Season Preview issue which includes off-season analysis, scouting reports and predictions for every single team in the league. 2009 is no different and Sports Illustrated has just come out with this years edition. Though the hard copy hasn't actually arrived at my house yet, the online version is already available for everyone's reading pleasure, or displeasure, as the case may be. It seems the SI team doesn't think too highly of the Saints this year and actually predict them to finish third in the division.

I have focused this summer on interviewing sports journalists (Jeff Duncan, Kenny Wilkerson) to not only learn more about the Saints but also to gain some insight about the world of sports journalism at all levels. With the summer officially winding down and the start of the season so close now, it's only fitting to finish it all up with one last interview. This week I had the distinct pleasure of posing a few questions to Sports Illustrated writer, Damon Hack, who was responsible for covering the Saints' section of SI's season preview. We discussed his thoughts on the team this year, the NFC South, his time with Sports Illustrated and the world of journalism in general. Enjoy.

CSC: What's the process for compiling these season previews for Sports Illustrated?

DH: I and several other reporters travel to training camps, talk to players and coaches, and try to get a feel for the strengths and weaknesses of a team going into a season. It's a good way to make contact with teams, learn their personnel, and predict how will they might do.

CSC: Did you get to choose your teams or were they assigned? Does Peter King get first choice?

DH: My teams were assigned by my football editor. I'm not sure if Peter gets first choice, but if he does he deserves it! He is a great football writer, a wonderful teammate, and a reporter whose work I've admired for a long time.

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We now continue with with part two of my discussion with Kenny Wilkerson. Today's topics include Reggie Bush, Payton/McAllister tension and Benson's pivotal role in landing the 2013 Super Bowl.  

Thanks once again to Mr. Wilkerson for taking time to answer my questions. I truly appreciate it.  

CSC: Where do you stand on Reggie Bush?

KW: I think the same thing today about Reggie Bush that I thought when I first laid eyes on him and watched him up close and personal, especially his rookie year in 2006. Reggie is an outstanding football player. No question about it. People who say he is a bust are completely nuts. He is not a bust. He is an outstanding football player. He has unbelievable quickness, ability, knowledge and smarts.

He's got the same type of brain as Ricky Williams. People used to knock Williams, and deservedly so because of how quirky he was, but Ricky was so smart. He never made mental mistakes. Reggie is in that same category. But he's not the back that Ricky was. He's not the tank that Williams was. You can't give the ball to Reggie Bush twenty to twenty-five times a game for sixteen games   He's just not physically big enough to hold up to the pounding that he's going to take. Can you get the ball to Reggie 20 times a week? Yes. But handing it off to him? No. There's a big difference. There is a big difference between handing the ball to Reggie and getting the ball to Reggie.

Reggie is like other players that have been around for years. Warrick Dunn, Eric Metcalf, Mel Gray. He's a weapon and he needs to be used as a weapon. He needs to be used with a lot of motion. Have the defense guessing. Is he lining up with the receivers? Is he lining up in backfield? Is he lining up in the slot? He needs to keep them guessing. And they do it with him sometimes. But in my opinion, I just don't think they do that enough.

He's been knocked by a lot of critics who claim that he's not a good football player because they ask  him to do things sometimes that he's just not capable of doing. If you get him into some space and use him properly then Reggie is going to score a lot of points for you. He has a nose for the endzone and he knows how to get there but you've got to give him that room. You've got to get  him that space. I know they try to do it and they would read this and say, "Kenny doesn't know what he's talking about. We do try to get Reggie in space." And they do. I just don't think they do it enough.

I think they get too hard headed and Payton tries to give him the ball too much between the tackles trying to prove that he's right and everybody else is wrong and that Reggie can run between the tackles. He's just not that kind of guy and I think that's one of the big problems with the team. I think the problem lies in the hard-headedness of trying to do things that you're not capable of doing. Or chucking away the game plan too fast in the first quarter because its not working and they're not running the ball effectively and reverting too quickly to Drew throwing it fifty to sixty times. I think they give up too easily on what they plan to do and he gets too hard headed in trying to convince everybody that he knows what he's doing and that he is smarter than everybody else.

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It's been over a year since Saints fans have heard from Kenny Wilkerson following his resignation from WWL. Since then he has left behind many questions and has quickly become an internet phenomenon shrouded in mystery. Everyone wants to know: Just where the heck is he?

He's right here. For the first time in quite a while, Kenny Wilkerson is speaking and he has chosen Canal Street Chronicles to do so.

For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting his return to radio...wait no more! The man, the myth, the legend is finally coming back to the airwaves with a new talk show on 990AM WGSO starting this June. He's a bad mother SHUT YO MOUTH!

Along with his new radio show he's also going to be hitting the internet, including right here on Canal Street Chronicles. He has already expressed an interest in helping out here and becoming a valuable member so expect to see more of Kenny in the near future. If any of you guys have ideas on what you might like to see from Kenny let us know. My initial thoughts were to have you submit questions for Kenny to answer.

But this isn't about me today, it's about Kenny. So without further ado let me present you with the first part of my conversation with Kenny. I thank him for taking the time to speak with me over the phone for a while to answer some of my questions. In this first part we discuss his career, the Saints off-season so far and his brand new show starting in June. Be sure to return tomorrow for part two of our discussion.

It is my great pleasure to officially (sort of) welcome back Mr. Kenny Wilkerson.

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Part two of my interview with Saints columnist Jeff Duncan can be found after the jump. We finally talk about the team, the draft and the 2009 season as well as learn a bit about Jeff's personal life. 

Thanks again to Mr. Duncan for taking the time to answer my questions. 

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I recently had the opportunity to ask a few questions of Times-Picayune Saints columnist, Jeff Duncan. He works hard to keep Saints fans up-to-date and in-the-know with his regular columns in the paper and on nola.com. His Saints Mailbag segments are very popular and since we are all so familiar with his work, I figured we should get to know him just a little better. 

A big thank you to Mr. Duncan for taking time out of his busy draft-time schedule to provide us with some detailed, in-depth answers. 

In part one of our discussion, which can be found after the jump, Jeff and I talk about his background, his career, the Times-Picayune and the blogosphere. Part two can be found tomorrow. 

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On my flight back home from London I happened to sit next to Dawn Hopkins. Dawn is 42 years old and has been a Saints fan all of her life. She lived in Lakeview before Katrina changed that and is now a resident of Slidell. Her passion for the black and gold is so deep that it's gotten her into the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. I had the chance to ask her a few questions about being a fan and the team this year.

CSC: Please tell us your accomplishments as a Saints fan?
DH: I was Ultimate Saints Fan of the year in 2003 which means I am enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. They have since stopped doing that in 2004 but those of us belong to an organization called Professional Football Ultimate Fan Association (www.pfufa.org). They just selected people to induct again this year after losing their sponsorship. I am also on the board of The Touchdown Club of New Orleans (www.tdcno.org). I was a board member of the New Orleans Saints boosters until it folded.

CSC: How can one become a member of The Touchdown Club?
DH: You have to fill out an application and be sponsored by two current members.

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Today I bring you the second and final part of my interview with Adam, our favorite NFL record attempting Brit. This week we get down and dirty about the Saints and his stop here in New Orleans on his season long journey.

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For those of you who pay attention to what I write, you may have remembered me mentioning a British NFL fan named Adam. I talked about him briefly in Saints News one day after WhoDatSay.com did a little piece on him.  Some of you guys seemed interested, and it turns out Adam contacted me looking for any help he could get. For those of you who don't know who Adam is, you will learn more. For now all you need to know is that he is a bigger NFL fan than you are. I took the opportunity to extend a helping hand and ask Adam a few questions. Besides, this might actually take off and he may become the NFL poster boy. Regardless if it does or not, Adam will have the experience of a lifetime that most of us could only dream of having. Below is the first half of our conversation.

CSC: Explain to our readers your mission this season.
Adam: Pretty simple really. I will be watching 1 live game at each home franchise. Therefore it was orginally going to be a 32 game trip, but with the Toronto and London games that made it 34, and I can also squeeze in an extra game and that will be at my beloved Bears. I will be exploring the role and the power that each NFL team has on it's surrounding communities.

CSC: Does Guinness Records know about this?
Adam: They know a little and getting in touch with them is tricky, but I have a few leads. I know from the NFL this has never been done before, but we just need to officiate it.

CSC: So the NFL knows you are doing this? This sounds like some good PR that they would love. Your from Europe. They're trying to expand into Europe. I could see Al Michaels giving his weekly Adam update on MNF as they cut away to you in attendance at each game.
Adam: Yes, the NFL is aware that I am doing this trip. The trip and book will not be, as it stands currently, an official NFL product. I would love for this trip to be a catalyst for more people in the U.K and Europe to be interested in the NFL. I know it is a great sport with great fans and with the NFL International Series in it's second year, I do hope I can help them out and they could help me out. We'll see. Me and Al Michaels doing our thing on MNF would be amazing.

CSC: You're writing a book?
Adam: Yes I am. I'm not sure if it will be simply the blogs together, or it may be more of a photography book/coffee table book. Each team has its own chapter, but no publishers have gotten in touch yet, so hopefully they will. I will also be making a documentary, so that should be fun.

CSC: How the heck did you get this idea? You do realize this is every red-blooded American male's dream?
Adam: Ha, quite a few Brit fans are jealous too! I was at the Arizona/Bears game in 2006 on a Monday Night Football game when I realized I wanted to go to every Monday Night game, or see every franchise host a MNF game, but the with the T.V schedules you never know who is going to get prime time slots. So I looked at some previous schedules and realized I could see every team at home in 17 weeks. It has been 2 years in the making!

CSC: I think everyone wants to know...How much is all of this going to cost? And how the heck are you affording this?
Adam: I have no clue how much it will cost. I hope under £25k, which is about $45k. I really do not know at the moment, and if I have any money left I hope to keep going throughout the playoffs to the SuperBowl and Pro-bowl. Maybe a sponsor will come by then and help me out? I sold my apartment in London and the money from that is going on the trip. I have been saving for some time, but I will be leaving my job behind, as a drama facilitator working with young people across London! A very fun job!

CSC: What is a drama facilitator?
Adam: Well I guess it is like a drama tutor, only I do work in the formal education places like schools. What I do is use drama as a tool for positive social change with young people across London, so I work with my young offending group. The idea is that the drama will educate them to stop them stabbing each other. Rather a bleak and blunt example, but it is very rewarding and fun! I don't give grades or anything like that, so I'm not really a teacher, more like a drama therapist. Well it's more therapuetic than therapy.

CSC: What about your girlfriend? Why is she putting up with this? Is she coming?
Adam: Well I have been going out with Steph for 18 months, and this trip has been in the making before I met her.  She is very supportive and is going to come out and see a few games, plus I'll see her at the London game. I will be rotating friends whilst out there, but about 30% I will be on my own.

CSC: Which game are you most excited about?
Adam: Well the Bears/Packers is going to be the SuperBowl for me, and for the Bears if we don't make the playoffs. Though every game has an interesting angle for all sorts of personal reasons. The Saints are a team I made sure I was going to see more than once. I'll be seeing you guys 3 times on my trip and more if you make it to the playoffs! 

CSC: Don't jinx it Adam, geez! How did you come up with the schedule and the order of what games you would attend?
Adam: The schedule was a mix of matchups that I really wanted to see, and games that had history and a rivalry, whilst others were simply down to the schedule and how far some games were from others. But there is not a single bad game in the NFL, so I'm happy with the schedule, and I'm seeing some great matchups.

CSC: How are you traveling through the states?
Adam: I'm driving. I will be buying a car (a green one) and putting some logos on it, get fans to sign it at each game. I'll be driving nearly 35,000 miles in total. Only for Seattle, Toronto and the London games will I be flying, and the Giants game I am going with a coach load of people from a New York bar. I'll sell or auction the car off after the trip.

CSC: I want to sign it! What kind of car?
Adam: Haha, it will probably be a Toyota Prius, as that is the cleanest car out there, or if I need more space I will get an SUV, but a green one. Any car dealers reading this? Haha. My father is a taxi driver here in London, and I would love to travel the States in a London Taxi, that would be great!

CSC: I thought you meant a green colored car! Now I know you mean a hybrid. I drive a Ford Escape Hybrid. I highly recommend it. Are you making an environmental statement?
Adam: Haha, I do hope people in the states will know what I mean when I say a "green" car, that it is not the color, oops. Well I'll be driving over 35,000 miles and that is fair amount of pollution, so if I can pollute less I will. But I also need a car big enough to carry a BBQ and some other bits and pieces for 3 months. So what is the Ford Escape Hybrid get for MPG? Ford doesn't have a hybrid here yet I don't think.
The car is unlikely to be in green in colour, I'll probably get my website wrtitten on it and an area for people to sign. I'd like "Pimp My Ride" to do something for me, but apparently they have stopped making new episodes, well that is what they told me!

CSC: I get around 32 MPG in the city, which is pretty good for an SUV. Honestly the hybrids aren't as effective during highway driving because the battery never kicks on.

Adam will be checking in on this post if you guys have any questions, comments or helpful advice for him. I know he would very much appreciate it. Check back for part two of my conversation with Adam when we talk more about his trip, the Saints and New Orleans.