Hearing Moved Up For New Orleans Saints Linebacker Jonathan Vilma

A hearing has been set for July 26th on New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma's motion for a temporary restraining order regarding his season-long suspension for his alleged role in the team's bounty scandal. Vilma is trying to get a judge to delay the start of the suspension in the hopes of playing in 2012.

July 26th is also the day that the Saints hold their first training camp practice. Training camp officially opens on July 24th when all players under contract report for physicals, meetings and conditioning.

Getting a hearing on the 26th is a victory for Vilma because it was orginally scheduled for September 1st. The NFL argued against moving up the date because Vilma did not "exhaust" his appeal options that are available
to him in the collective bargaining agreement.

The Saints first preseason game will be August 5 when they take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.