Reggie! Reggie! Reggie! Bush Explodes As New Orleans Saints Advance

Get ready.

ESPN will find Brett Favre a far more compelling story than Drew Brees this week.

If memory survives me right, Favre didn't fare too well the last time he played in an NFC Championship Game. He threw the game away in overtime.

Well, that's neither here nor there as they say. Poor bastard had a senior moment. The eyesight sometimes fails you at that age.

Shifting gears like a certain former USC tailback, let's move on to another topic. Here's what Sean Payton had to say about Reggie Bush four years ago on draft day:

"This time of year, everyone talks about, 'We got our guy,' and, 'We got the highest-rated player on the board'. In this case, we got our guy and we got the highest-rated player on the board."

"He brings a ton of versatility to our offense," Payton said. "He's someone that I know gives us a lot of flexibility."

Said general manager Mickey Loomis that day: "In our minds, Reggie was the best player in the draft."

"The kid's that good. You've got to take him, regardless of your situation," added Deuce McAllister.

After Bush's performance on Saturday night, only the most fervent Bush hater would question the wisdom of the Saints braintrust on that draft day afternoon almost four years ago.

Bush exploded for 217 total yards as the New Orleans Saints advanced to the NFC Championship game for the second time under Payton with a 45-14 thrashing of the Arizona Cardinals.

Here's a run left side and Reggie Bush breaking free! Bush to the 30...25...20...15...10...five...bye, bye, birdie...he's in the end zone!

It was a 46-yard kar(dash)ian-like burst up the middle and gave the Saints a 21-7 lead.

Talk about Hollywood South.

Nothing like a big run to shut up some big mouths who said you didn't have what it takes, Reggie.

"On the first touchdown run, I hit the hole pretty hard and I saw the cornerback coming at me but he was also being blocked at the same time," said Bush. "I saw him (the cornerback) at the last second and I kind of jumped at the same time, and I don't know if he fell down or not. Then, I bounced off a tackle and turned around and I saw a defensive lineman coming right at me and I just tried to put a move on him, and once I put a move on him it was upfield."

In the second half, Bush added the exclamation point to an extraordinary performance.

Taken in by Reggie Bush on the 18-yard-line, running to his right, now cutting upfield! He's got room! He is up to the 40, 45, midfield fifty...running down the near sideline. Graham won't even contest it. Bye, bye, birdie...83 yards! He's having the game of his career!

"That was vintage Reggie Bush," said All-Pro safety Darren Sharper.

Added Brees: "I think his preparation throughout the week was great. I think he understands his role on this team as a guy who is going to have the opportunity to make some explosive plays in the run game and in the pass game and he took full advantage. And no bigger stage, no bigger venue than in the playoffs."

He's a Hollywood guy after all. It should come as no surprise that he would save the finest NFL performance for the big stage.

He's a playmaker. The ultimate difference maker. He came up big in playoff time.

As Roy Scheider said in All That Jazz back in '79, "It's showtime, folks!"

Minnesota fans beware. It's showtime, purple people and the California kid's just that good.

No time for your aging quarterback to have another one of his senior moments.