Saints get OK to host limited fans
The Saints will start having fans in the stands for home games after the mayor of New Orleans agreed with the team on a phased plan starting Sunday against the Panthers.
The plan announced Tuesday will start with 3,000 tickets for Sunday’s game at the Superdome, increasing to 6,000 fans for November games with the 49ers and Falcons and up to 15,000 in December for games against the Chiefs and Vikings barring any changes in local health and safety guidelines.
A limited number of tickets for players, the team and other required NFL obligations also were approved. Both the Saints and the mayor’s office reminded everyone to keep wearing masks and practicing physical distancing and hand washing.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell agreed with the Saints on the approach after fans weren’t allowed to attend the first three home games.
The Saints, who lost a home game to the Packers, had started talking with LSU about playing at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge to get fans into the stands for their games.
Nine of the 14 NFL games last weekend had some fans in the stands, and the Browns, Bengals and Texans also are among those who’ve had fans at games this season.
College football: Junior Stetson Bennett will remain the starting QB for Georgia despite throwing three INTs in the fourthranked Bulldogs’ 41-24 loss to No. 2 Alabama on Saturday. When asked if Bennett will remain the starter, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said “... I feel great about Stetson. He’s done a good job of managing the situations we have put him in.” The Bulldogs next will face Kentucky on Oct. 31.
Soccer: Forward Marcus Rashford returned to haunt Paris Saint-Germain, scoring with another late winner as Manchester United won 2-1 in their opening Champions League group game. Two seasons ago United knocked PSG out in dramatic style to reach the competition’s quarterfinals, with a nerveless Rashford scoring a last-gasp injury-time penalty to win 3-1 in Paris having lost 2-0 in Manchester. This time he netted in the 87th minute at a rain-soaked Parc des Princes, collecting a pass from substitute Paul Pogba and easily turning his marker before smacking a low shot past goalkeeper Keylor Navas from the edge of the penalty area. In other action, Lionel Messi opened the scoring to lead host Barcelona to a 5-1 victory over Hungarian club Ferencváros. It was Barca’s first Champions League match since the embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich last season’s quarterfinal round.