NEW ORLEANS — While University of Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan and the Warriors went through their first Sugar Bowl practice in New Orleans at the Saints' indoor practice facility yesterday, some members of the Saints were on the sidelines.

"Too bad you don't need a quarterback," somebody suggested to executive vice president and general manager Mickey Loomis, whose team already has Drew Brees.

"There's a lot of good players," Loomis said.

When UH spent a week in Houston during a September layover between the Louisiana Tech and Nevada-Las Vegas games, the Warriors had wanted to work out at the Texans' practice facility but were turned away, they said, by an NFL policy rooted against giving one team a scouting advantage over others. So, the Warriors spent the week working out at Rice University instead.

Yesterday, UH said it had a go-ahead to use the Saints' facility through a deal between the Sugar Bow and NFL.

Carl Clapp, UH associate athletic director, said the Warriors and Georgia were given a choice of several facilities at which to practice, including the Superdome, Tulane University and some well-appointed area schools.

"You know June," said athletic director Herman Frazier. "He went right for the pro facility."

Indeed, it was like old-home week with Jones and some of his coaches exchanging greetings and stories with Saints' staffers.

Clapp said, "apparently the NFL approved, but I don't know what the difference was. Maybe it was because the Sugar Bowl was handling things and it wasn't the University of Hawai'i dealing directly."

Whatever it was, the Saints rolled out the red carpet on their green FieldTurf facility.

Loomis said the Saints weren't looking for a scouting edge. "Really, we're not. We didn't let them use the facility to scout them. We allowed them because it is the right thing to do. The colleges have been real good to us and we wanted to reciprocate."

MORE THAN 408 MEDIA MEMBERS TO COVER GAME

A spokesman for the Sugar Bowl said 408 media members have been approved for credentials to cover the game.

Officials said that number could go higher.

They said the number was lower than last year when more than 500 were granted for a game matching Notre Dame and state favorite Louisiana State.

"It (this year) is a good turnout," added Duane Lewis, the bowl's spokesman.Sugar Bowl still the third-hottest ticket

SUGAR BOWL STILL THE THIRD-HOTTEST TICKET

The Sugar Bowl remains the third most popular of the 32 bowls for ticket purchasers, according to www.TicketsNow.com.

It is behind the national championship game matching Ohio State and Louisiana State and the Rose Bowl pairing Southern California and Illinois.

The average price of tickets being sold online has dropped for all three in recent weeks. The average Sugar Bowl price has gone from $264 to $257 while the national title game has gone from $1,641 to $1,489 and the Rose from $472 to $436.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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