Let's call this one "The Curse of The China Doll."
Since Sean Payton became coach of the New Orleans Saints in 2006, he has handed a china doll to injured players on his roster (china dolls being fragile, get it?).
The last Saint to receive the doll was cornerback Tracy Porter, who missed time during training camp while recovering from knee surgery. Porter still had the doll in his possession when Payton suffered a broken leg and torn knee ligament during a sideline collision last Sunday.
You can guess what happened next. When Payton -- who plans to work from a coaches box this Sunday against the Colts -- returned to his desk following surgery earlier this week, the Times-Picayune reported that he was welcomed by the well-traveled doll and a message reading, "Return to Sender."
Said Payton: "A china doll's very fragile, and it's rare that you don't have one that's not broken, an arm or something, so early in the season, I had to place that china doll on the lockers of a few of our players, and when I got home last night here in the building, there were a lot of cookies, balloons, a lot of cool stuff and then on my desk was a note with that return to sender, so our players and coaches and everybody have been great. Certainly I appreciate all your support."
Well-played revenge, Mr. Porter. Well played.
