New Orleans Saints great Deuce McAllister honored at retirement dinner

Published: Sunday, July 11, 2010, 6:04 AM 

 Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune  

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/07/new_orleans_saints_great_deuce.html

JACKSON, MISS. - Deuce McAllister hung up his cleats six months ago.  

The former Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints star now begins Phase II - or Phase Deuce - of his life.

But before he embarked on the great unknown, McAllister enjoyed a night of reflection on Friday, when friends, family and colleagues feted him at a retirement dinner at the Jackson (Miss.) Convention Center.

"Celebrating a Saint" was a wonderful evening, with several heartwarming testimonials to McAllister and his standout career at Morton High School, Ole Miss and the Saints.

The outpouring of support was inspiring. Everyone from Mississippi State Sen. Michael Watson to Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mo Williams to Saints guard Terrence Metcalf, praised McAllister, mostly for his friendship and humanitarianism. More was said about McAllister's off-field work than his remarkable on-field production.

The consensus: McAllister was a better man than a football player.

Anyone who played with, worked with or cheered for McAllister during his Saints career could attest to that.