We've been waiting and waiting, and the time has finally arrives. Real honest to goodness football is back tonight. Maybe I should say "real" since it's the first exhibition game. But it's football, and it's a start. It also means we're only a few short days away from the rest of the NFL kicking off the first week's schedule.

Tonight's Hall of Fame Game features the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints. It will be aired on NFL Network and starts at 5:00pm PT. If you don't have cable, you have the option of paying $20 for NFL Preseason Live. Through this service you can watch all the preseason action. One disclaimer is that games in your local broadcast area will be blacked out, as well as the nationally broadcast preseason games.

While I don't imagine we'll see a lot of most of the starters, it will be worth following the snaps of Kevin Kolb and John Skelton. The preseason opener won't tell us a lot, but it will set the framework for the rest of the preseason. Kolb is getting the start, but there has been no word on how much time John Skelton will get with the number one offense. The Cardinals would seem like a franchise hoping for Kolb to emerge as the guy, but until that happens, this battle would seem to be relatively wide open.

As for the Saints? Well, this marks the first game since the bounty scandal blew up. I'm curious how much is mentioned about the scandal given that the game is airing on NFL Network, the league's home channel. They can't ignore the topic, particularly with Sean Payton not taking part in the game, but I have to think they don't want to discuss it too much.

What will you be looking for in tonight's Hall of Fame game?