Jackson Free Press

Times-Picayune reporter Mike Triplett reported this morning that the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Drew Brees should reach a deal by the July 16 deadline. Triplett is also reporting the deal will make Brees the highest paid player in NFL history.

In his article, Triplett expects Brees to sign a bigger contract than the $19.2 million per year signed by Peyton Manning when he joined the Denver Broncos. He is reporting the deal could be between $19.2 million and $20 million a year.

I, like Triplett, will be glad if this deal is done and the only questions left about Brees career is not contract talks but how many more Super Bowls he can win in New Orleans. This long saga could be coming to an end.

If only the bounty scandal would end and we could finally focus on football.

Governing Magazine has an interesting tidbit for folks who are partial to Jacktown... according to their estimates, Jackson actually grew in 2011 for the first time... in a long time.

According to Governing, this is part of a larger trend -- the population of urban centers saw a spike in 2011, beating out the national average for growth. Large cities -- and the state of Texas -- saw significant growth.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2012/jul/05/3457/

Jackson didn't fare that well, but considering the population of the city has shrunk every census since 1970, it's interesting to see an actual uptick in population in the 2011 estimates. According to their map, Jackson's population grew by a little over 2,000 people in 2011, or roughly 1.18 percent. Surprised?

(h/t Dominic Deleo)

Michael Johnson might be best know for his golden shoes he wore during the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. He is the only male athlete to ever win the 200-meter and 400-meters in the same games.

Johnson is currently working in England for the BBC as a commentator. He made some recent comments to British media outlet the Daily Mail, that has created some buzz.

The Daily Mail published comments made by Johnson about slavery and athletics. Here are a few quotes from the article:

‘All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it’s impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn’t left an imprint through the generations."

"Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me – I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us."

Are Johnson's comments fair or foul? Read the whole Daily Mail story here.

Johnson is not the first sports figure to make these claims. Former CBS Sports commentator and Las Vegas bookmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder made similar comments in 1988.

ESPN did a 30 for 30 film on Snyder and his downfall after his comments.

In what I'm thinking may be something of an outlier, the George (H.W.) Bush Library at Texas A&M University (Gig 'Em!) has released its updated straw poll, showing Governor Romney leading President Obama by... wait for it... 32 points.

The results as of July 3 are: Gov. Romney 4,034 (62.41 percent); President Obama 1,974 (30.54 percent); and Third Party 456 (7.05 percent).

The Library's press release notes that the poll "is not scientific and does not represent an endorsement of any particular candidate or party by the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum or the National Archives and Records Administration."

Just to be clear, Gallup (which is a scientific poll) shows Obama leading Romney in the largely meaningless national tracking poll, 48% to 43%, his largest lead since April.