Tailback Deuce McAllister and defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant still face possible four-game suspensions for testing positive for a banned diuretic this past summer, which they claim was the result of a tainted over-the-counter weight-loss supplement called StarCaps.

They remain optimistic that a federal judge will overturn the NFL's ruling, but if not they will be required to sit out the first four games of next season without pay.

"We still feel good about it. There's a couple things that have to play out, but we still feel good about it," said McAllister, who could wind up in an especially awkward position if he and the Saints part ways this offseason, making him a free agent.

Nevertheless, McAllister said he doesn't regret fighting the ruling, which allowed him and Smith to play while the Saints still had slim playoff hopes earlier in the month.

"Whether you're here or with another team, it would definitely be disappointing if you have to sit (next season)," McAllister said. "But I don't think that really factored in to how we approached it or how we went about it this year, because we were playing for this year. You know, nothing's guaranteed for us as far as next year is concerned."

Smith agreed, saying he didn't even consider it a risk, because he felt the players were right and never considered backing down from the fight.

"We could have just accepted it and moved on from it. But who wants to accept something that you didn't intentionally do, or that they had prior knowledge of?" Smith said, referring to the players' contention that the league knew the StarCaps product was tainted but did not properly warn players about it. "Because at the end of the day, if we sit out four games, everybody thinks we're guilty of what we've been accused of."

Grant risked the most of anyone by fighting the NFL's ruling, because he could have served his four-game suspension while on the injured reserve list the past four weeks.

Neither Grant nor his representatives have offered comments throughout the process, but clearly he, too, thought it was worth the risk. Grant also took the greatest financial risk of the players involved. His salary is scheduled to increase from $750,000 this year to $1.85 million next year, meaning a four-game suspension in 2009 would cost him an additional $275,000.

Smith's salary is scheduled to increase from $700,000 to $1.07 million. McAllister's salary is scheduled to increase from $2 million to $3.2 million, though he almost certainly will have to agree to a lower salary to remain with the Saints.

The three Saints players joined Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams in their decision to fight the league's suspension through the federal court system this month. The NFLPA filed a lawsuit on their behalf, claiming that the league should have warned the players about StarCaps, and that the arbitrator who ruled on their appeals, NFL attorney Jeffrey Pash, had a conflict of interest.

Judge Paul Magnuson issued a temporary injunction to block the suspensions while he took more time to review the case and hear further arguments. He has yet to set an agenda for future proceedings, with the NFL and the NFLPA pushing for different courses of action.

The NFLPA is hoping for an expedited discovery schedule and a final trial some time in the first half of the year, according to union attorney Jeffrey Kessler. He said the NFL has proposed a stay on all proceedings while it appeals the preliminary injunction.

Kessler said he expects Magnuson to decide on a schedule in the next week or so.

"It remains the view of the union that the court will eventually enter a permanent injunction against the suspensions and formally set aside the arbitration award on the ground that it was against public policy and the product of evident bias," Kessler said.

The diuretic for which the players tested positive -- bumetanide -- is one of 20 diuretics on the NFL's list of banned substances because they "serve as masking agents for steroids and are potentially dangerous to the health of players," according to the league's policy on steroids and related substances.

Although the lengthy legal process could be considered a minor victory for the players, who first and foremost are hoping to clear their names, neither McAllister nor Smith said they feel like they have been vindicated in any way yet.

"You're still disappointed, because any time there's a ruling, whether it's on our behalf or whether it's on the league's behalf, you see your name popped up on the screen," McAllister said. "So whether there's diuretics being used, it's always 'steroids.' Some of them may put 'and related substances.' But there's still a black eye or a black cloud that hangs over it. It's nothing that you're proud of or pleased about."

"It's bothered us all, me, Deuce and Charles, because nobody did anything intentionally wrong, and everyone knows that," Smith said. "I know our teammates know that, other players around the league know that, and I think some of the general public knows that.

"Hopefully something gets settled in the offseason and I don't have to worry about it any more."

GRANT TRIAL UPDATE: Grant also is hoping for a positive resolution in his involuntary manslaughter case this offseason.

He was one of seven men charged with involuntary manslaughter and affray for their alleged role in a brawl outside of a Blakely, Ga., nightclub last February, which led to the shooting death of a pregnant bystander. Grant's longtime friend, Laquient Macklin, is charged with felony murder and feticide for allegedly firing the bullet that hit Korynda Reed.

Grant pleaded innocent to the charges and has maintained that he was neither a willing participant nor an instigator of the fight. Before the shooting, Grant was stabbed in the neck by fellow defendant Woodrow Gray, who pleaded guilty to the charges of aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter last week, according to the Early County Superior Court.

Gray was sentenced to 10 years to be served on probation, with 120 to 180 days to be served in a detention center. Grant's attorney, Edward Tolley, said he was surprised that Gray was not more harshly punished for his assault on Grant, though he was pleased that he pleaded guilty to the charge.

None of the other men charged with involuntary manslaughter have pleaded guilty or gone through the trial process yet, Tolley said. He said the judge in the case set a deadline for late January for the attorneys involved to file additional briefings. Pre-trial motions were filed early last week, including a motion to dismiss the charges against Grant.

Tolley said he doesn't expect a trial to begin before March or April. Grant is also facing a civil lawsuit that was filed by the victim's family. No timetable has been set in that case.

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Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.