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Goodell not welcome: An effigy of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell dangles from the front porch of a New Orleans home that is otherwise festively decorated with Saints paraphernalia.

With restaurants and bars gearing up for an influx of Super Bowl XLVII visitors, the “Refuse to Serve Roger Goodell” page on Facebook had 107 likes as of Friday.

A portrait of Goodell covers the bull’s-eye on the dart board at Parkview Tavern.

And floats in the unabashedly lowbrow Krewe du Vieux parade in the French Quarter last weekend displayed larger-than-life likenesses of Goodell in acts that defy polite description.

New Orleans is celebrating the return of Saints coach Sean Payton after a season of NFL banishment as a result of the “bountygate” scandal — when the team ran a pay-for-hits program. But Goodell, who suspended Payton and other current and former Saints players and coaches last year for their roles in the system, is being ridiculed here with a vehemence usually reserved for the city’s scandal-scarred politicians.

“They believe he completely used the Saints as an example of something that was going on league-wide,” said Pauline Patterson, co-owner of Finn McCool’s, an Irish Bar in the Mid-City neighborhood where the words “Go To Hell Goodell” are visible over the fireplace.

Some of Goodell’s critics say the disarray resulting from what they believe were unfair suspensions led to the Saints’ 7-9 performance this year — and a missed chance to make history.

“We had a real shot of being the first team in history to host the Super Bowl in our own stadium,” Parkview Tavern owner Kathy Anderson said. “He can’t give that back to us.”

Ready to roll: The music blared in the Baltimore Ravens locker room Saturday as the players threw their football gear into black duffel bags lying in front of their cubicles.

Next stop, New Orleans.

After one final practice at their own training facility, the Super Bowl-bound Ravens will take Sunday off before heading for the Big Easy on Monday afternoon in anticipation of their matchup on Feb. 3 against the San Francisco 49ers.

“We’re right where we want to be,” wide receiver Torrey Smith said. “Now we have an opportunity to play in the big one. But at the end of the day, we’re still getting ready for a football game.”

Coach John Harbaugh conducted practice from Thursday through Saturday as if it was a normal work week. They went hard on Thursday and Friday and eased up Saturday.

“We’ve had a great week. We had an excellent practice,” Harbaugh said after the closed two-hour session. “The guys are very sharp and they’re excited. We’ll have to go down there and do just as well [or] do better.”

Pro Bowl preparations: Adrian Peterson signed and tossed miniature footballs into the Aloha Stadium stands, then chatted up Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Marcus Allen. Arian Foster played Peyton Manning’s bodyguard for stadium cameras and told fans he recently walked on hot lava.

The Pro Bowl players practiced a little, too, on a sunny Saturday in Honolulu one day before an all-star game that will likely be used to determine its own future.

But the game’s main purpose is fun, said several players including Minnesota tight end Kyle Rudolph and Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles.

“I feel like there’s no responsibility, it’s just all about fun,” Charles said. “You work hard during the year — it’s not like a competitive game.”

Competition — or at least the appearance of it — is exactly what the NFL is looking for from its stars on Sunday as it uses the game as a measurement of whether it’s worth putting on in future years. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the game will stop if play doesn’t improve, drawing mixed reactions from top players all over the league.

Chicago cornerback Charles Tillman says he doesn’t want this year’s Pro Bowl players to be known as the group who led to the game’s cancellation, taking away an honor and privilege for future players.

“I don’t want this to happen on my watch,” he said.

Associated Press