KENNY CHESNEY - CHESNEY IS A SAINT

Country star KENNY CHESNEY turned sports hero at American football team the New Orleans Saints' pre-season practice last week (ends08Aug08) - when he won the team a Sunday off.
Saints coach Sean Payton, who is a friend of the singer, invited Chesney to join the footballers at Thursday's (07Aug08) on-field work-out, and promised to give the players a day to themselves if the visitor could catch a punt.
Chesney, wearing helmet, pads and a Saints shirt with his name on the back, failed to keep a hold of his first two attempts, but caught the third - much to the delight of his team-mates for the day.
The country star, who was a top high school footballer in Tennessee, was then saluted by Payton, who insisted the singer was part of the team.
A thrilled Chesney said, "I quit growing too young to ever think about getting to have a shot at playing in college, so this is about as much fun I can have."