Draftmania is peaking and we still have a few days to go before the selections are announced.

The NFL draft is a year-round experience for pro football fans and is the second biggest day on the NFL calendar, next to Super Sunday. What I hear on talk shows, what I read on draft sites, everywhere I go, the draft is as big as the Super Bowl  here because the Saints have never been there.

If LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell goes first over-all as expected, I don't look for him reporting to training camp with Oakland until mid-August. Oakland will be so stressed out by the gigantic contracts given to the second and third choices Al Davis will have to come up with more money than he anticipated.

Russell is featured on the cover of two national magazines this week leading up to draft day. He is on the covers of ESPN the Magazine and the Sporting News. Both cover shots were taken at LSU. The quarterback will learn his next destination as a player on Saturday when the draft takes place in New York City. The draft will be televised live by ESPN starting at 11 a.m.

Fifteen years from now, the Saints' 2006 draft --featuring Reggie Bush and Marques Colston --will go down as the Saints' best draft ever. But right now it's impossible to deny the talent of their 1986 draft. That class featured guard-tackle Jim Dembrowski (10-year starting guard-tackle), running back Dalton Hillard (6,797 total yards and one Pro Bowl), running back Reuben Mayes (3,885 total yards, two Pro Bowls), running back Barry Word (1,015 total yards), running back Gil Fennerty (New Orleans native) and linebacker Pat Swilling (107.5 sacks and six career interceptions).

A high first-round draft choice usually signs a four-year deal. Here's a look at the salaries due the the top three picks in last year's draft:

Mario Williams, first over-all, Houston. Due $31 million in his first four years.

Reggie Bush, second over-all, Saints. Due $33 million. His four-year figure is higher than Williams' because the Saints have to exercise an $8.5 million bonus after his third season to keep Bush.

Vince Young, third over-all, Tennessee. Due $28 million. Young's big bump could be up  $7.5 million in year 5 of his six-year deal.

SAINT SOARS TOWARD HEAVENS: Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie hopped a flight in a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird F-16 last week over Bossier City. What did he say during the flight? "Oh Heavenly Father”said the cornerback. :It was awesome. I was up there about 45 minutes, going about 700 miles per hour, sitting right behind the pilot."

The pilot said McKenzie pulled 9.1's, well above the level of gravity that would make most folks pass out, and the player didn't get sick in the cockpit.

McKenzie was impressed with the military and the work they do.

"Just coming into Barksdale Air Force Base and seeing just the amount of work that everyone does, I just felt at home," said McKenzie. "I don't see how the pilots do this so frequently. For me, it was like a roller-coaster ride, the scariest roller-coaster ride times a hundred.

"If I wasn't in this profession (NFL) and I had the opportunity, I'd be signing up right away and looking for to work among a great team like this."

Saints quarterback Drew Brees flew with the Blue Angels (F-18) recently. A Navy Blue Angel jet crashed during an air show the past Saturday over Beaufort, S.C.

LSU GAME MOVED: In what has become an annual event, LSU’s football game against Arkansas in Tiger Stadium has been moved to the day after Thanksgiving to accommodate CBS television. The Tigers and Razorbacks will square off at 1:30 p.m. in a nationally televised game. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 24.

LSU and Arkansas have played on the Friday after Thanksgiving 11 straight years with the Tigers winning 8 of those games. LSU has won four straight against Arkansas. The winner of the LSU-Arkansas game has gone on to represent the SEC West for the SEC's championship game four times in the past six years.

The Tiger host Virginia Tech on Sept. 8.

NOBODY ASKED ME, BUT: Colts cornerback Jason David signed a surprisingly rich, four-year deal for $16.5 million on the offer sheet. I don't expect the cap-strapped Colts. to match the offer...Longtime prep basketball coach Nick Revon will  be inducted into the Mississippi Community College and Junior College Hall of Fame in Raymond, Miss., on Tuesday night.

He already had been inducted into the Louisiana, Mississippi, USM and Hinds JC halls of fame. Revon became a starter for St. Aloysius as a seventh-grader and played his final two years of high school basketball and baseball at Hinds Junior College. He played four years at USM. He coached at St. Aloysius, Ridgewood and East Jefferson. You can find him today greeting guests at his neighborhood bistro, Coach's Corner, in Metairie....Downhill skier Bode Miller says he's not going to race in the 2010 Olympics, because there is too much emphasis on winning." Yeah, I'm not going to write a sports column anymore because there's too much emphasis on spelling.

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Join Jeff Crouere as he emcees Politics With a Punch for our 5th Anniversary program.  Check out our panel.  It will be "funnier than laughing gas"

Bayoubuzz is sponsoring Friday Buzz: Putting On The Glitz at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans.  The Event starts at 5:00 p.m. as a “happy hour” and proceeds throughout the night featuring incredible talent such as Jeremy Davenport, Marva Wright, Armand St. Martin, Suzaune Yee McKamey  and others.  There is no charge, but, there is a cash bar and magnificent restaurant.  It is a great opportunity to get out, meet people, enjoy a beautiful atmosphere and ambiance, dance and obviously, do business of all kinds.  The location is the Ritz Carlton, Third Floor on Canal Street.  Music ends at 1 a.m.  Start planning now and tell your friends.