As the NFL crowns a new champion in Super Bowl XLIII Sunday evening, Big Daddy looks forward to watching the game, enjoying the Boss’ halftime show, laughing at the best commercials, and devouring master chef Eric Labouchere’s wonderful spread at the infamous Kingpin bar. Saints fans always take advantage of Super Bowl parties to whip their perfectly sculpted bodies into Mardi Gras shape. Big Daddy’s 21st Saints Beat examines the New Orleans Department of Public Works' collection methods, looks over some Super Bowl propositions, recaps the Senior Bowl, acknowledges Chris Paul’s intensity, and release his World Famous Pregame Information.
Public Works Director Robert Mendoza instituted the mobile license-plate recognition, or MLPR last April. Automating vehicle immobilization gives highly skilled meter maids extra time to complete important cell phone calls on the job instead on their valuable time. Mendoza bought a third scanning vehicle on line this week allowing system expansion from the Vieux Carre and CBD to include Mid-City, Carrollton, and Uptown neighborhoods. Boasting about the database’s amazing 90% accuracy rate, Mendoza explained how the program mixes customer service and citizen extortion together. Wow! That’s crucial! Immobilized motorists can simply call the toll-free number on the windshield, pay the overdue tickets, inflated fines, and $75 booting fee to receive a numeric code that unlocks the device. Violators get all that in one convenient 5-minute phone call. Imagine 100 years ago people thought “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am” was a great service; boy, are they missing out?
Overblown Super Bowl hype compels non-gamblers to buy squares on office or bar pools, place wagers on the side (Pitt -7), total (46-), money line (Pitt -230, Ariz. +190), and sorts of crazy propositions. Vegas books put up more odds on this football game than Big Daddy faces when he walks on the first tee. Saints Beat compiled a small sampling of the seemingly endless 250 posted possibilities: coin toss (heads, tails, or team), team to score first, team to score last, first 1st down of the second half, AFC total, NFC total, longest field goal, and a whole host of mind numbing wagering opportunities. Investing money with Bernie Madoff is safer betting on these insane propositions.
College football stars descended on Mobile, Ala. hoping to improve their NFL draft position in the 60th annual Senior Bowl. Crimson Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson starts the recap as his 4-yard run put the South ahead 7-0 after one; Louie Sakoda’s 3-pointer gave the North its first tally. LSU’s Quinn Johnson’s and N.C. State’s Andre Brown’s 1-yard scoring runs put the South in command. Trailing 21-3 Central Arkansas QB Nathan Brown’s 4-yard pass to Oregon’s Jeremiah Johnson cut the North’s halftime deficit to 21-10. Daphne, Al. native Pat White garnered MVP game honors when the West Virginia signal-caller connected with Mississippi wide receiver Mike Wallace for a 39-yard score, giving the South led 28-10 going to the fourth. Navy fullback Eric Kettani’s short TD run narrowed the gap to 28-18 with 14:19 remaining. Ole Miss defensive tackle Peria Jerry’s fumble recovery capped the 35-18 victory and fulfilled Charlie Daniels’ prophecy that The South Gonna Do It Again.
National spotlight focuses on Chris Paul every time he steps on the court, but that never affects his intensity. Consequently, Paul’s teammates sometimes freeze like deer in the headlights, watching the master perform new magic tricks each time he handles the ball. Paul will start the All-Star Game for the first time on February 15th and may finally win the league MVP award this season. CP3’s importance to the Hornets is greater than Karl Rove as a Republican election strategist (who got the Moron of Millennium, George W. Bush, two terms in the White House). Paul’s ability, attitude and integrity earns him membership status in the city’s super hero club, joining Archie Manning, Deuce McAllister, Ricky Jackson, and the late Pete Maravich. Recently, the “Man of Steal” approached unthinkable quadruple double numbers twice, an achievement reached only four times in NBA history. Big Daddy hopes local residents realize how fortunate they are to have a special competitor like Chris Paul playing in the Crescent City.
Next time on Saints Beat, Big Daddy recaps Super Bowl XLIII, analyzes Tulane and LSU’s baseball programs as their '09 campaigns dawn, and celebrates U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' project to close Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). Remember, adding www.NOSaintsHistory.com to your favorites list puts Saints facts just one click away. Now Big Daddy’s World Famous Pregame Information: — Go Over 46.5 —
