Ah, that Mankato nightlife
Ditka issues curfew for Saints players after arrest
Posted: Wednesday August 05, 1998 03:31 PM
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Ditka hopes his curfew will keep players out of trouble Jonathan Daniel/Allsport |
MANKATO, Minnesota (AP) -- After the arrest of New Orleans Saints wide
receiver Keith
Poole during the team's first night off during training camp, coach
Mike Ditka said he will rethink allowing his players such freedom again.
"We'll let them out. We just won't let them stay out all night," Ditka
said. "It's crazy. If you can't get done what you're going to do by
midnight, you're not going to get it done anyway."
Poole, 24, a fourth-round draft choice from Arizona State in 1997, was
accused of attacking a man with a golf club. Poole was arrested early
Sunday morning. He was later released on a $150 cash bond and ordered to
appear in La Crosse County Circuit Court on August 13.
Poole and teammate Jake Delhomme, a second-year quarterback from the
University of Southwestern Louisiana, accepted a ride back to their
dormitory from three La Crosse residents about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, a police
report said.
Before they reached the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where the Saints
are staying for training camp, there was an altercation and the driver
stopped and told them to get out of the car, the report said.
One of the passengers, Timothy Whitewater, 26, of La Crosse, told police
that he and Poole then got into an argument outside the car. Poole grabbed
a golf club from a bag in the back of the car and struck Whitewater on the
left hip several times, causing a two-inch-long gash, Whitewater said.
Mixed reception
There was a big crowd on hand for the Saints two practices against the Minnesota Vikings on
Tuesday, despite the chilly, gray day. People packed both practice fields
for both sessions and lined up for autographs later.
The regular-season match doesn't seem to inspire the interest.
Of the Vikings' seven home games that are not sold out this season, the
most tickets left for a game are to the Saints-vikings game on November 8.
There are 16,000 tickets left to that game. The next highest number of
tickets remain for the Cincinnati game on November 15 where there are
15,900. Hands-on owner
Red McCombs, the new owner of the Minnesota Vikings spent the
Saints-Vikings practices watching the action and working the crowd.
McCombs was on the sideline as fans pleaded with him for autographs.
"Wait a minute, I'm watching my team," McCombs said.
Minutes later he turned to the crowd and began signing.
"We're gonna win them all. We're gonna win them all," McCombs said. "You
guys come and stay with us." And in this corner ...
The best fight of the day was between Saints linebacker Kevin Mitchell
and Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter.
Carter was running a route in front of Mitchell and Mitchell hit him at the
end of the route. Carter got up and threw the football at Mitchell's back.
The pair had to be pried apart after that.
Saints defensive end Brady Smith, who
was in scuffles regularly at training camp last year, was in two of them on
Tuesday. In the morning he and Vikings tackle Bob Sapp mixed it up.
In the afternoon Smith and tight end Hunter Goodwin
got in each other's facemasks. Extra points
The afternoon passing drills against the Saints secondary made the Vikings
look like Air Minnesota. The Vikings completed 12 straight passes against
the New Orleans defense ... Despite some heavy hitting in both practice
sessions on Tuesday, the Saints left Mankato with no serious injuries.
Offensive lineman Keno Hills' right
hand swelled after he hit a helmet in practice. Ditka said he did not
believe it was serious, however. Hills will have it X-rayed.
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