(On having a hopeless feeling) "The Red Cross is one of the best ways to do it and the money that we're raising will go to the Red Cross. It will be earmarked for use there in Houston for the people coming over from Louisiana. We feel really good about that. In fact, this morning I was over at the stadium with the first convoy of buses that arrived. They were really happy to get out of the Superdome. They were confined over there for days and here (in Houston) they were able to get out and walk around a little bit. They were quite happy they were in Houston."
(on the money donated helping people who fled to Houston) "It will help those 20-25,000 people who have come over on the buses to the Astrodome. It will be for food and clothing for them."
(on overall reaction) "It's the greatest natural disaster our country has ever experienced. It is so much more severe than anyone ever anticipated. It is hard to know how to react. I know the authorities over in New Orleans and the state of Louisiana are doing everything they can. But who's equipped to deal with something like this?"
(on football playing a therapeutic role) "In a small way (it could help). I would like to think in a big way. They've really got some tremendous problems they have to deal with, but they also need some relief. They need to be able to take their attention away from their everyday effort to survive, and football gives them an opportunity to do that."
(on Saints' future) "It is going to be difficult. We flew over the Superdome on the way over here (to Tampa). We circled it a couple of times and about two-thirds of the roof has been ripped off and a lot of water damage and they are going to have to get in there and evaluate it. I don't know how long it will take to repair it. You can imagine what kind of a problem that creates for the Saints. Where are they going to play their home games…how about the people who bought season tickets? It's one thing to sell season tickets in New Orleans, but how do you sell them in San Antonio? It's a terrific problem."
(on if they should play their home games close to New Orleans) "I think it would make sense if they could make it work to play at LSU. That way, their fans could attend the games and it would make it much easier for everyone."
(on Saints playing in Reliant) "We've said that we would be more than pleased for them to do that if that worked out for them. Logistically, it creates problems for them. It's a long way for their fans to have to come, and I think there are probably better solutions. If that's what they wanted to do, we would be happy for them to do it."
