Uphill Battle

NFL tonight MINNESOTA AT NEW ORLEANS TV: Channel 4, 5:30 PDT. Line: Saints by 5. Over/Under: 48. Story line: The Vikings have a banged-up secondary — just three healthy corners. That's not the way you want to face the pass-happy Saints. Noise will be a factor too. Sam Farmer's pick: Saints 28, Vikings 21.

Jordan Love, 22, was standing outside his home with his pit bull Duke when he was approached the other day by a Democratic volunteer canvassing his Carson neighborhood. Love had voted for the first time in 2008, inspired by Barack Obama's campaign, and that has made him a target in 2010. Lori Noflin, the volunteer, urged him to cast a ballot again this fall and would only walk away after Love signed a card pledging to vote in November. Voters like Love — first-time and sometimes voters — are a vital voting bloc for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown and incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer in their election bids, according to political observers in both parties.

USC announced Thursday it would appeal NCAA sanctions it considers "excessive." And even before those plans became official, Trojans football coaches were calling recruits and getting out the message that the penalties could be reduced. "They're trying to appeal it and at least cut it in half," said incoming freshman Giovanni Di Poalo, an offensive lineman from Ventura St. Bonaventure High who said he spoke to Trojans line coach James Cregg. However, if recent history is any indication, Trojans players and fans shouldn't get their hopes up. Since a key change to an NCAA bylaw was made in January 2008, only one in 11 appeals has been successful.

With his healthcare overhaul now enshrined in law, President Obama warned Republicans Thursday that any attempt to repeal the measure would backfire and that Americans will quickly see that the new package of medical benefits they receive will not usher in "Armageddon." Obama returned to the city where he first laid out his healthcare proposal as a candidate for president nearly three years ago, the first stop in an aggressive White House push to defend a plan that is likely to be a focal point of the midterm elections in November.

The running of the most prestigious Olympic Alpine event, the men's downhill, was scrubbed Saturday because of warm weather and deteriorating snow conditions on the Dave Murray course. You could see this postponement coming from as far away as a snowy place like, you know, Dallas. If things don't improve soon, Whistler might have to be converted to a Water Park with medals being awarded in the GSSS (giant slalom slip 'n slide). This is my fifth Winter Olympics, so weather delays roll off my back like H2O flowing over what used to be the 60-meter jump known as "Murr's Hope."

The list of men who have won the coveted Olympic downhill crown is nearly as impressive as the list of men who haven't. Hermann Maier, the Austrian known as the "Herminator," claimed 54 World Cup victories in his illustrious career. But he never snared the big one, although he almost died trying at the 1998 Nagano Games. Marc Giradelli, representing tiny Luxembourg, won five World Cup overall titles but never gold in downhill. Bode Miller, the greatest male skier in U.S. history, has been downhill-denied, as was Daron Rahlves, the former U.S. ski team star who won more World Cup downhills, nine, than any other American male.

The countdown to the Vancouver Olympics will take another leap forward Wednesday, when Belarus will become the first of 12 competing hockey federations to announce its roster for the men's tournament. Russia, a potential gold medalist, will announce its powerful roster on Christmas. Defending champion Sweden will declare its entries Sunday. The parade will end with announcements by Canada on Dec. 30 and the U.S. on Jan. 1 during the Winter Classic. As the host nation and self-proclaimed inventor of hockey, Canada will face the most scrutiny and pressure in Vancouver.

Veteran voters here have rarely witnessed a gloves-off election battle -- or political campaigning of any kind, for that matter. In this regional transportation hub of 350,000 residents, confident incumbents from the nation's ruling Liberal Democratic Party had only to list their names on the ballot to virtually guarantee a landslide victory. But all that has changed in this city 90 minutes north of Tokyo, the home district of four previous prime ministers. This year, former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda faces the political battle of his life to win reelection to the lower house of the Diet, Japan's parliament.

Far from the hue and cry over healthcare legislation that is erupting at town halls across the country, many senior citizens are quietly confused about what an overhaul might mean for them. And the opinions they form in the coming weeks may well prove crucial. Seniors are an influential group of voters who bring a unique perspective to the topic: They already have guaranteed healthcare under Medicare, and they also are the heaviest users of medical services. On a recent afternoon, a group of people in their 80s and 90s at a Denver retirement complex voiced some of the same questions about healthcare that are circulating in living rooms and senior centers throughout the country.

Not only is Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs planning to sit out of training camp, but he also has an enormous spare tire. The good news for the Ravens? The spare tire isn't around Suggs' waistline but instead came from a tractor. Suggs, the team's franchise player for the second consecutive season, has yet to sign his tender. He isn't allowing himself to get out of shape, though.