Two Dat? Cigar Aficionado Magazine Picks New Orleans Saints To Win Super Bowl

The New Orleans Saints must be feeling like Aretha Franklin these days.

All they want is a little R*E*S*P*E*C*T.

Those national media types, or yankees, whichever term you prefer, all say the Saints won't even win the NFC South, much less repeat as Super Bowl championships.

ESPN Radio's Mike Greenberg scoffed Thursday morning at a Sporting News feature ranking Sean Payton as the second-best coach in the league. Greenberg said with biting sarcasm, "I don't know that I agree with that at all."

Greenberg then went on to extol the virtues of his beloved Rex Ryan.

Poor Greenie. It must be tough being called the poor man's Bob Costas all the time.

Well, turns out at least one national publication is picking the New Orleans Saints to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 2010: Cigar Aficionado.

And before you laugh, it's highly respected Danny Sheridan who is doing the picking.

Sheridan is the daily oddsmaker for USA Today.

I, myself, do not smoke cigars but my heart leaped when I read Sheridan's prediction and I gladly plopped my six dollars on the counter of a national bookseller you've all heard of (the one that used to be a funeral home on the corner of St. Charles & Louisiana)...it was a pleasure to purchase such an exemplary publication and I make no apologies for doing so.

Says Sheridan: "Even though Vegas lists them as a 5:1 underdog to win the NFC and a 12:1 underdog to win it all, the Saints are racked, stacked, loaded, and motivated. I'm picking the Saints to win their second straight Super Bowl."

"The Saints are a well-oiled machine that attacks on all fronts," says Sheridan, (did you hear that, Greenberg!) "Their air game is spectacular, the ground plan is solid, and they even have a crafty side, as evidenced with a successful onside kick in the Super Bowl."

"New Orleans wasn't active in free agency and didn't have to be," observes Cigar Aficionado. "Led by All-World QB Drew Brees, the champion Saints head into 2010 with their offensive powerhouse intact.

"Sean Payton showed why he is one of the best play-calling coaches in the business with a brilliant second-half onside kick in the Super Bowl, which turned the game's momentum and helped the Saints win."

Adds Sheridan, "I picked the Saints, a 25-1 underdog last year, to win the Super Bowl and I like them to go marching in again."

Makes you feel like lighting up a cigar...Ya' know?