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METAIRIE, La. Willis McGahee Jersey . -- Drew Brees walked into Saints headquarters wearing a black T-shirt with "Guantanamo Bay" printed on it. It seemed like an appropriate choice of attire for New Orleans locker room leader, given how the Saints may have to adopt a bunker mentality to overcome the fallout from the bounty scandal that has overshadowed their off-season. The star quarterback once visited the American military installation in Cuba, and spoke back then of how he admired the teamwork and discipline it took to maintain such an outpost on hostile territory. On Tuesday, as the Saints reported for training camp, Brees discussed his expectation that his team would rise to meet its own unusual set of challenges, which include being without suspended head coach Sean Payton for the entire season. "Im excited about the unknown because in a lot of ways, we dont necessarily know what to expect," Brees said. "With all this stuff swirling around us, in the end, all we can worry about is what we can control. ... I know the type of guys we have. I know the coaches we have. Im excited to watch it all come together." Brees said the Saints have the foundation in place "to weather any storm," and that he is "all about doing things that have never been done before." The Saints are the first NFL team to have a head coach suspended at all, never mind a whole season -- the punishment Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down to Payton for his failure to put a stop to what the league has described as a program that paid cash bonuses for tackles that injured opponents. Two current New Orleans players also were suspended -- linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire season and defensive end Will Smith for the first four games. Now the Saints will try not only to move on without Payton and a pair of defensive leaders, but do so well enough to become the first team to play a Super Bowl on its home field when the Superdome hosts the NFLs championship in February. "I know what were made of. I know where weve been. I know where we want to go," Brees said. "Theres no greater opportunity than what we have right now in front of us." Brees acknowledged that it is tough not being able to even talk to Payton this season, but added that the suspended head coach, who led the Saints to their only Super Bowl title in 2009-10, has groomed the very experienced players and coaches who remain for continued success. "You see how he was able to influence others," Brees said. "A lot of times they say that about a CEO. When he leaves the company, how does the company do? If they continue to succeed, in a lot of cases you can say it was because he helped mould and develop and mentor those that would take over after him, and I believe thats what Sean Payton has done for all of us here." After playing six years under Payton, Brees said he even knows what his suspended head coach would say to him about his mechanics when a throw misses its target -- to get his elbow up, rotate his hips and get his front shoulder down. "His voice is going to be in my head whether its actually coming out of his mouth or not," Brees said. "Hes present, even though hes not present." The Saints will hold conditioning tests Wednesday and their first practice of camp on Thursday. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt has been in charge since Paytons suspension began in April, shortly before the draft. Vitt will continue to handle most head coaching duties until serving a six-game suspension to start the regular season, adding yet another challenge as it pertains to continuity on the coaching staff. The Saints have not announced wholl take over Vitts role as the staffs figurehead at that time. In any event, Brees and Vitt said they were confident in the Saints ability to handle this most unusual of seasons because of a shared sense of responsibility that should leave no single coach or player trying to take on more than he can handle. "Seans departing remarks to us was: Just do your job," said Vitt, who was part of Paytons first staff in 2006. "Weve got a veteran staff here. Weve got a lot of veteran players here. This teams been through a lot together since weve been together in 06. "Sean would be proud of the body of work that weve done to this point, but now were on the clock," Vitt added. "Its for real now." While the start of training camp represents a return to some semblance of normalcy, the distractions related to the bounty scandal are not going away any time soon. Before the Saints first open practice on Thursday afternoon, Vitt plans to go to U.S. District Court in downtown New Orleans to testify on behalf of Vilma, who is seeking a temporary restraining order that would allow him to return to Saints headquarters to rehabilitate from a left knee injury that required off-season surgery. Curtis Lofton, a top free-agent acquisition, is expected to start in Vilmas place this season, but Vitt still wants Vilma back if possible. "I know Jonathan Vilmas intent," Vitt said. "I know his work habits. I know his leadership qualities. I know what he means to this team. ... He has always put his team and his teammates first and I stand behind Jonathan Vilma." Regardless of how this weeks hearing turns out, Vilma, Smith and two suspended former Saints -- Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and Green Bay defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove -- will continue to try to persuade a federal judge to permanently overturn their bounty punishment. The ongoing court proceeding is bound to be a distraction, but only one of many the Saints will have to overcome. "Its not like were walking into this with a bunch of rookies," Brees said. "Weve been down some interesting roads before. Now, this is uncharted territory for us, but I know were equipped to handle whatever comes our way." NOTES: The Saints waived WR Kevin Hardy, and with Vilma on the suspended list, they were able to add TE Derek Schouman and WR Marques Clark to get to their training camp maximum of 90 players. Schouman is a former Boise State player who joined the NFL with Buffalo in 2007 and also has played with St. Louis. Clark formerly played at Henderson State. Knowshon Moreno Jersey . In this case, the journey comes with a Canadian chequebook thanks to well-heeled owner J. Paul Reddam of Windsor, Ont. And a helping hand from Vancouver, where upstart Mexican jockey Mario Gutierrez found a second home. Champ Bailey Jersey . Roddick converted only two of 13 break-point chances but dominated with his serve, as often happens at Wimbledon, where hes a two-time runner-up. "I served really well," he said. http://www.shopthebroncos.com/von-miller-jersey .J. -- Sitting on the bench in the second period after his shortest stint ever in a playoff game, New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur never worried whether coach Pete DeBoer would turn to him again in Game 4 against the Florida Panthers. Peyton Manning Youth Jersey . -- Evgeni Nabokov prides himself on his ability to bounce back from a poor performance -- not that he was solely to blame for the San Jose Sharks 7-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Shannon Sharpe Jersey . Each week, CTVOlympics.ca looks at some of the names to keep an eye on as we count down to the Trials in Calgary from June 27-30.  DISCIPLINE: Womens Pole Vault NUMBER OF OLYMPIC BERTHS AVAILABLE: Three.DENVER -- Dillon Gee didnt let one tough inning get him down. Gee shook off the rough patch in an otherwise strong outing, Lucas Duda backed him with a homer and single to drive in four runs, and the New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Saturday night. "You cant get caught up in the big inning here because theyre going to happen," Mets manager Terry Collins said, referring to a three-run outburst against Gee in the fourth. "Youve got to keep pitching. He just came back in the dugout and got ready for the next inning." The Rockies Michael Cuddyer said Gee (2-2) kept the Rockies hitters guessing, preventing them from putting consistent hitting strokes on the ball. "He worked quick, threw strikes," Cuddyer said. "He mixed all of his pitches, changed speeds well, mixed his location well. He pitched well." Gee, who turned 26 on Saturday, allowed four runs in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two, and seemed to be at his best late in his outing, retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced. "You saw what kind of offensive club they have here," Gee said. "I knew I was going to have to be sharp, especially with the team they have and the way this park is. Three runs in an inning is never acceptable, but I was proud of the way I settled down after that and gave the team a chance to come back and win the game." Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy and David Wright each added three hits and scored five times collectively, helping the Mets bounce back from Friday nights sloppy 18-9 loss to Colorado. Frank Francisco gave up a two-out solo homer to Dexter Fowler and a triple to pinch-hitter Tyler Colvin before retiring pinch-hitter Jason Giambi on a sinking liner to centre field that Kirk Nieuwenhuis caught on a dead run for his fifth save in as many chances. Guillermo Moscoso (0-1), recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs earlier in the day, took the loss in his Rockies debut, giving up six runs on nine hits in five innings. He got the start in place of Jeremy Guthrie, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list after spraining his right shoulder in a fall from his bicycle on Friday. Moscoso waas acquired in January as part of the trade that sent outfielder Seth Smith to the Oakland Athletics. Peyton Manning Jersey. "Guillermo did a great job of getting ahead in counts, getting to two-strike counts, but they got some hits with two strikes off of him," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "He gave us a very competitive outing but it had a chance to be an outstanding outing if he gets those couple of innings down." Trailing 4-3 going into the fifth, the Mets had four consecutive two-out hits, including Wrights RBI single and Dudas tiebreaking two-run single to go up 6-4. The Mets added a run in the ninth when pinch-hitter Mike Baxter doubled, went to third on a groundout and scored on reliever Edgmer Escalons wild pitch. Duda hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot, off Moscoso in the second and Wrights run-scoring double in the third gave New York a 3-1 lead. But the Rockies regained the lead with a three-run fourth. Carlos Gonzales led off the inning with a bunt single, Troy Tulowittzki singled and Todd Helton followed with an RBI double. Michael Cuddyer had an RBI single and came home two outs later on a single by Moscoso, who delivered his first major league hit and RBI. The Mets got off to a shaky start when catcher Josh Tholes throwing error in the first inning opened the door to the Rockies first run. New York committed six errors -- one shy of the team high -- in Friday nights 18-9 loss to Colorado. Marco Scutaro singled to start the inning and then stole second base, advancing to third when Tholes throw sailed into centre field. Scutaro scored an unearned run on Tulowitzkis fielders choice. NOTES: Rockies LHP Jamie Moyer (1-2), who became the oldest pitcher to earn a win in major league history two weeks ago, will be on the mound for Sundays finale. The Mets counter with Johan Santana (0-2), who has pitched well but will be looking for his first win of the season. ... Helton hit his 560th career double in the fourth, tying him with Eddie Murray and Jeff Kent for 22nd all-time. ... Nieuwenhuis, who attended Denver Christian High School, had his father and other members of his family on hand in seats behind the visitors dugout. ' ' '