The Acadiana Advocate 02-09-2025 by The Advocate

A grave situation

Kevin Menard’s Lafayette cemetery voted down by parish

BY MEGAN WYATT | Staff writer

After Edna Nixon’s husband died of heart failure in June, she struggled to pay for a proper funeral and burial

The funeral director suggested a burial option at a new cemetery that would be about $2,000 cheaper than the established cemetery she had in mind. Joseph Oleghe would be the ﬁrst person to be buried at Serenity Gardens Cemetery

Now, about seven months later, there are just ﬁve gravesites at the rear of the wooded pasture between Willow Street and Interstate 10 near Scott. The property, with its gravel road and muddy field, looks more like a construction site than a cemetery Nixon visits several times each week, often spending hours at a time at her husband’s resting place. It was during one of those visits she learned

An informational sign is seen

of problems plaguing the cemetery

Kevin Menard, a Grammy Awardwinning musician who played with Buckwheat Zydeco, didn’t get the local permits required to do work on the property And even upon learning what was required and being ordered

to stop work, he continued burials.

Menard’s plan for the property was denied by the Lafayette Parish Planning Commission in November, and the Lafayette Parish Council upheld that decision this week. Menard can appeal to the 15th Judicial District Court, which he said he intends to do. “I feel some type of way,” Nixon said. “I would rather just move my husband.”

Menard told the Parish Council on Tuesday that he obtained the necessary permit from the state to start a cemetery and was unaware of local guidelines.

Neil Leboeuf, development manager of Lafayette Consolidated Government’s Community Development & Planning Department, said Menard did not obtain the required local

See CEMETERY, page 6A

New Orleans is ready for some football

After all the hoopla, parties and preparation, Super Bowl LIX is finally here

Keith Spera

Are you ready for some football?

At approximately 5:30 p.m. Sunday either a Kansas City Chief or a Philadelphia Eagle will kick off Super Bowl LIX in the Caesars Superdome.

The 11th Super Bowl hosted by New Orleans is ﬁnally at hand after years of planning and months of feverishly ﬁxing up the French Quarter and downtown

New Orleans’ pre-Super Bowl scramble was like a last-minute, citywide house cleaning before company arrives. The disruption of January’s once-in-acentury snowstorm didn’t help.

As hosts, we can only hope that our guests have so much fun that they don’t notice

See FOOTBALL, page 4A

USAID cuts may hit La. rice farmers

Impact of changes remains unclear

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL | Staff writer

In all his years attending agriculture conferences and meetings, Michael Fruge said he’s never heard the U.S. Agency for International Development discussed.

But that is not for its lack of importance to the industry “They talk about Mexico because it changes,” said Fruge, a second-generation farmer and owner of Parish Rice in Eunice. “They talk about India because they put export bans on long-grain rice. But food aid has just been there. It just hasn’t been talked about because it’s just there.”

President Donald Trump’s effort to dismantle USAID, which has been providing food aid since 1968, has changed that.

Earlier this month, Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk laid off thousands of USAID employees and shut down programs around the world as part of a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance. On Friday, a federal judge, in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions, issued a restraining order, temporarily blocking the administration’s plans to slash USAID’s 10,000-strong workforce to fewer than 300 people.

However, the agency’s international aid programs, which provide billions of dollars to U.S. farms, are still on hold, and that could have consequences for Louisiana farmers.

The state’s rice farmers, in particular, play a signiﬁcant role in producing food for such aid programs as Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition. From ports in Houston and New Orleans, Louisiana-grown rice is shipped across the globe to places like Haiti, Iraq and Ukraine.

USAID is one of the top 10 purchasers of rice in the nation, said USA Rice Federation’s Michael Klein. In 2024, the agency purchased more than $126 million worth of U.S.-produced

See USAID, page 6A

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Edna Nixon talks about the burial of her late husband Joseph Oleghe at Serenity Memorial Gardens cemetery in Scott on Wednesday.

at Serenity Memorial Gardens cemetery on Wednesday.

Police: 2 charged in fatal stabbing of soldier

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. Two people have been charged in the death of a Fort Campbell soldier who was stabbed nearly 70 times last year, police said Saturday.

Sofia Rodas, 35, has been charged with counts of firstdegree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of U.S. Army Private First Class Katia Dueñas Aguilar, 23, the Clarksville Police Department said in a news release. Aguilar’s body was found in her home in the Tennessee city of Clarksville in May Reynaldo Salinas Cruz, Aguilar’s husband, has been charged with counts of tampering with evidence in her death. Both Salinas Cruz, 40, and Rodas had been held on unrelated federal charges, and they were extradited to Clarksville on Friday, police said Their lawyers in their federal cases did not immediately return calls on Saturday

The details related to the charges were not immediately available.

Dueñas Aguilar, of Mesquite Texas, enlisted in the Army in 2018 and a year later came to Fort Campbell, on the Tennessee-Kentucky border She was a member of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.

An autopsy report from the Montgomery County Medical Examiner’s Ofﬁce said Dueñas Aguilar suffered 68 stab wounds to her neck and upper body Storm could bring foot of snow to Northeast

CONCORD, N.H. — A strong storm is expected to bring moderate to heavy snowfall across parts of the Upper Great Lakes on Saturday before intensifying overnight across the Northeast.

The National Weather Service said a storm over the central and southern plains will move northeastward Saturday, producing a swath of 4 to 8 inches of snow across parts of Minnesota and the Great Lakes. Saturday night into Sunday, upstate New York and New England could see up to a foot of accumulation. Hazardous travel conditions were likely due to low visibility and snow-covered roads

“One good thing with this storm, it is moving pretty quickly, so it’s not gonna be a prolonged winter weather event,” said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland “It looks like the snow will deﬁnitely be coming to an end earlier in the day on Sunday, after which the weather will be fairly tranquil for a few days.” In the meantime, a mix of snow sleet and freezing rain from the Ohio Valley into the northern Mid-Atlantic region could result in signiﬁcant icing in the Central Appalachians, forecasters said.

KAREEM HANA

Hamas releases three frail-looking hostages

Israel frees nearly 200 Palestinians as part of ceasefire exchange

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, MOHAMMAD JAHJOUH and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Hamas-led militants released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages and Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners Saturday in the latest exchange of a ceasefire that has paused 16 months of war in Gaza.

The hostages’ condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in a handover ceremony sparked outrage in Israel and could increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceaseﬁre beyond its current six-week phase.

Netanyahu has signaled he would resume the war, even if that means leaving dozens of hostages in captivity “President Trump completely agreed with me: We will do everything to return all the hostages, but Hamas will not be there,” Netanyahu said after the exchange.

Civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy 34, were among about 250 people taken during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war Israelis’ joy turned to shock and tears when they saw their emaciated state.

Later Saturday, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners, some also appearing gaunt and weak. The Red Crescent said seven were taken to hospitals Many Palestinians released during the ceaseﬁre have appeared emaciated, and have alleged abuses in custody

It was the fifth exchange since the ceaseﬁre began Jan. 19. Twenty-one hostages have now been freed.

The Red Cross said it was “increasingly concerned about the conditions surrounding release operations” and urged all parties to ensure releases are digniﬁed and private

An Israeli Health Ministry representative, Dr Hagar Mizrahi, noted “severe malnutrition” and a “signiﬁcant decrease”

Rescuers search for some 30 people after landslide in China

By The Associated Press

BEIJING Chinese rescuers searched for some 30 people after a landslide on Saturday in southwestern Sichuan province buried 10 houses and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate. The Ministry of Emergency Management deployed hundreds of rescuers including ﬁreﬁghters following the landslide in a village in Junlian county Two people were pulled out alive and about 200 others were relocated, state broadcaster CCTV said.

A villager told BeijingNews that rocks were frequently seen rolling down the mountain since the second half of 2024, in some cases making sounds similar to ﬁrecrackers. The villager said geologists had inspected the area late last year, the state-run newspaper reported.

XINHUA NEWS AGENCy PHOTO An aerial drone photo shows the site of a landslide on Saturday in Jinping Village, Junlian County in the city of yibin, southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

President Xi Jinping expressed his concern and urged authorities to make every effort to search for the missing people and minimize casualties, the official Xinhua news agency reported Chinese Premier Li Qiang asked for an investigation and inspection of potential geological hazard risks in nearby areas Li also said residents who were under threat should be evacuated to prevent another disaster, according to Xinhua.

in body weight in the hostages released, as families again feared for the dozens of others still held in Gaza. Not all are alive

“If anyone had any doubt about how urgent it is to bring everyone back today we got a wake-up call,” Moshe Or, brother of hostage Avinatan Or told a weekly rally in Tel Aviv

Gal Hirsch, Netanyahu’s coordinator for hostages, said that “we will not remain silent about this. A message has been passed on to the mediators, and action will be taken accordingly.”

Hamas’ military wing said it had made efforts to preserve the hostages’ lives “despite the (Israeli) bombardment.”

The ceasefire’s first phase calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory Israel says Hamas has confirmed eight of the 33 hostages are dead.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s stunning proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza could complicate talks over the second and more difﬁcult phase, when Hamas is to release dozens more hostages in return for a lasting ceaseﬁre. His proposal was welcomed by Israel but rejected by Palestinians and most of the international community.

Hamas may be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes the U.S. and Israel are serious about depopulating Gaza, which rights groups say would violate international law

Netanyahu on Saturday directed a delegation to go to Qatar to discuss the ceaseﬁre agreement’s technical details, and the security Cabinet will meet about negotiations on the truce’s second phase, according to an Israeli ofﬁcial who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss details of the talks.

The Palestinian prisoners released include 18 serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis, 54 serving long-term sentences and 111 Palestinians from Gaza detained after the Oct. 7 attack but not tried for any crime. All are men, ages 20 to 61.

Virtually every Palestinian has a friend, relative or acquaintance who has been imprisoned.

Judge blocks DOGE from Treasury data in state AGs lawsuit

BY ERIK LARSON Bloomberg News (TNS)

A federal judge temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing some Treasury Department information and ordered the destruction of data they’ve already gathered in response to a lawsuit from a group of states.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan issued the temporary restraining order hours after 19 mostly Democratic-led states ﬁled the suit against President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The order will remain in place until the judge rules on a longer lasting injunction sought by the states. He set a hearing for Feb. 14.

Engelmayer said the states were likely to win the case on the merits, at least based on the evidence so far He also said the states were at risk of “irreparable harm” without immediate court intervention.

“That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and conﬁdential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking,” wrote the judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama.

The lawsuit filed late Friday in New York alleges Trump and Bessent violated federal law by allowing Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to Treasury data containing personal information on millions of Americans. The case, along with a similar suit filed earlier by unions, could delay what Trump says is a plan to identify and cut wasteful spending.

The payment files at issue, which are uploaded to Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Services systems, contain sensitive personally identifiable information like Social Security and bank account numbers in order to make a wide variety of payments to millions of

Americans from across the federal government, from veterans’ beneﬁts and child care tax credits to federal tax refunds.

Neither Musk nor DOGE is named as defendants in the suit.

“I have said it before, and I will say it again: no one is above the law,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the lawsuit, said in a statement on Saturday “Now, Americans can trust that Musk — the world’s richest man — and his friends will not have free rein over their personal information while our lawsuit proceeds.” The order temporarily bars Treasury from “granting access to all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department.” The judge also ordered unqualified individuals who gained access to the disputed data since Jan. 20 to “immediately destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems.” In an exclusive interview on Bloomberg Television, Bessent said Musk’s team had “read-only” access to federal payment data and insisted there was no “tinkering” with the system. Harrison Fields, the White House principal deputy press secretary, said in a statement that the suit shows Democrats have “have no plan on how to recover from their embarrassing loss” in the November election. “Instead of working to become a party that focuses on the will of the people, they are hellbent on keeping their heads in the sand and gaslighting on the widely supported mission of DOGE,” Fields said. Trump created DOGE by executive order and appointed Musk to lead what they describe as an effort to modernize federal technology and identify spending cuts. But the move immediately raised legal concerns.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL

Israeli captives, from left, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy who have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas fighters on Saturday before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip

— or don’t remember — what wasn’t ﬁnished.

When it’s go-time for a good time, New Orleans shines, as the past few days of wall-to-wall parties, concerts and special events have demonstrated.

As with Mardi Gras, it’s possible to escape the big event by sticking to certain parts of the city But downtown, the Super Bowl dominates.

Back in November Mayor LaToya Cantrell gave homegrown rap star Lil Wayne an honorary key to the city. Last week, New Orleans essentially tossed the keys to the NFL and said “Here you go. The city is yours Enjoy.”

A Super Bowl inevitably inconveniences locals, with street closures being one of the biggest disruptions.

But the conﬂuence of sports, pop culture, corporate wealth and international media is a unique opportunity and experience for the host city

With more NFL cities than ever vying for a Super Bowl, the game won’t circle back to New Orleans again for years.

So enjoy the hoopla as best you can.

Celebrities abound

Super Bowl LIX is, after all, that rare event that both President Donald Trump and Taylor Swift will attend.

Last week was the only week you could see Eagles fanatic and Hollywood leading man Bradley Cooper serving Philly cheesesteaks from a food truck in the Central Business District.

And Lady Gaga and Gayle Benson taping a New Orleans tribute in the middle of the night on Bourbon Street.

And Jelly Roll singing his hit “Need A Favor” at Laﬁtte’s Blacksmith Shop.

And the St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo and the Presbytère digitally “painted” with Louisiana artworks in eye-popping laser-light projections.

Not one but two super-yachts are docked along the Mississippi riverfront while the Lakefront Airport parked a ﬂeet of private jets.

All that money swirling around didn’t necessarily trickle down. Some bars and restaurants have reported business this week was at, or even below, what is normal this time of year Some local musicians more, it seems than when the Super Bowl was last here in 2013 say they didn’t score any extra gigs.

But other segments of the local economy clearly cashed in.

It was a good week to own a hotel, a short-term rental or a nice restaurant, or to be in the business of renting out stage, sound and lighting gear

Beyond the marquee musicians brought in — Chris Stapleton, Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, Blink-182, Travis Scott, Jelly Roll, Seal, etc. some local acts were especially busy Cowboy Mouth and Better Than Ezra were hired for multiple corporate events. The Soul Rebels’ half-dozen gigs included the Super Bowl Opening Night at the Dome and the NFL team owners’ party And Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews was scheduled to work a total of eight gigs on Friday and Saturday, before joining Lauren Daigle for “America the Beautiful” during the Super Bowl pregame show on Sunday

That all-Louisiana segment of the Fox telecast also includes Jon Batiste’s interpretation of the national anthem and New Orleansborn contemporary R&B vocalist

Ledisi animating “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Locked down and locked in Super Bowl security is always

tight. It was beefed up even more following the deadly terrorist attack on Bourbon Street early on Jan. 1. All week, Canal, Bourbon and

adjacent streets have blinked blue, occupied by a who’s who of police departments and military units. New Orleans hasn’t seen so many troops with so much ﬁrepower on the street since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago

To some, the massive show of force may be off-putting. But New Orleans may well have had the safest downtown anywhere in the world this weekend.

With a sitting president attending a Super Bowl for the ﬁrst time on Sunday, Superdome security will be even more enhanced.

And if the Dome’s power supply doesn’t ﬂicker like it did during the 2013 Super Bowl, everyone should be able to relax and enjoy the game Yes, a football game must still be played.

On Monday, players from both teams wore matching creamcolored sweatsuits and spotless white sneakers as they mingled among thousands of media members on the Superdome sidelines during Opening Night. They joked around, answered silly questions, and signed shirts and footballs tossed down from the stands by fans.

Players partook of New Orleans nightlife and cuisine. Several Chiefs teammates ate steak at Doris Metropolitan in the French Quarter Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce dined with their signiﬁcant others — that would be, respectively Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Swift — at Lilette on Magazine Street.

The players must set aside all the silliness and socializing come Sunday It’s game day Time to lock in.

Will Mahomes and company claim the ﬁrst Super Bowl threepeat and cement their dynasty status?

Will Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, possibly the next Saints head coach, exit Philadelphia with a win?

Will Kendrick Lamar spotlight “Not Like Us,” his omnipresent, Grammy-winning “diss” track takedown of rival Drake in his halftime show?

The answers will be revealed Sunday in the Superdome We’re ready for some football. Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

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STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Poydras Street shuts down by Caesars Superdome ahead of the Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Friday.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Barricades block Bourbon Street ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Wednesday.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

People gather at the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street in the New Orleans French Quarter on Friday.

Crews rush to recover plane found crashed in Alaska

BY BECKY BOHRER and HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska Authorities in western Alaska raced on Saturday to recover the remains of 10 people killed in a commuter plane crash from unstable sea ice before expected high winds and snow

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department wrote on Facebook that they were using a window in the weather to try to “bring Bering passengers and crew home today” from one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years. The Bering Air singleengine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome when it disappeared Thursday afternoon. It was found the next day after an extensive search with all nine passengers and the pilot dead.

As the community tried to process the deadly event, crews worked swiftly on unstable, slushy sea ice to recover the bodies and the wreckage. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory with snow and winds up to 45 miles per hour expected to hit the region late Saturday night, lasting into Sunday evening.

Ofﬁcials said a Black Hawk helicopter would be used to move the aircraft once the bodies were removed.

“The conditions out there are dynamic, so we’ve got to do it safely in the fastest way we can,” Jim West, chief of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, said Friday

Among those killed in the crash were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They had traveled to Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system vital to the community’s water plant, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

“These two members of our team lost their lives serving others,” David Beveridge, vice president of environmental health & engineering for the organization,

Chemical weapons watchdog delegation visits Syria

BY ABBY SEWELL and MOLLY QUELL Associated Press

BEIRUT A delegation from the global chemical weapons watchdog was in Damascus on Saturday for talks with Syria’s new leaders for the ﬁrst time since the fall of former President Bashar Assad. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, had found evidence of repeated use of chemical weapons by Assad’s government during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 to ward off the threat of airstrikes in response to a chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus, and Assad denied using chemical weapons. Last year, the organization also found the Islamic State group had used mustard gas against the town of Marea. The delegation, which met with President Ahmed alSharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, includes technical experts who hope to make contact with their Syrian counterparts. Since the overthrow of the Assad government, the Qatari embassy in The Hague has acted as the intermediary between the new leadership and the OPCW OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said in a statement that the talks were “long, productive and very open” and that the visit was “a ﬁrst step towards reestablishing a direct working relationship between the OPCW and Syria, following eleven years of stagnation and lack of progress with the former authorities.”

said in a statement. “The loss of these two incredible individuals and everyone else on board the plane will be felt all over Alaska.”

The other people’s names have not been released.

All 10 people on board the plane were adults, and the ﬂight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, according to Lt. Ben Endres of the Alaska State Troopers.

A photo provided by the Coast Guard showed the plane’s splintered body and debris lying on the sea ice

Two people in brightly colored emergency gear circled the wreckage.

“It’s hard to accept the reality of our loss,” U.S. Sen Lisa Murkowski said during an evening news conference.

Nome Mayor John Handeland choked up as he dis-

cussed the deaths and the response effort

“Nome is a strong community, and in challenging times we come together and support each other I expect the outpouring of support to continue in the coming days as we all work to recover from this tragic incident,” Handeland said.

The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m. Thursday, and ofﬁcials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

The Coast Guard said the aircraft went missing about 30 miles southeast of Nome.

Radar forensic data pro-

vided by the U.S. Civil Air

Patrol indicated that about 3:18 p.m., the plane had “some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said. “What that event is, I can’t speculate to.”

McIntyre-Coble said he was unaware of any distress signals from the aircraft. Planes carry an emergency locating transmitter If exposed to seawater, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which then relays that message back to the Coast Guard to indicate an aircraft may be in distress. No such messages were received by the Coast Guard, he said.

Rescuers were searching the aircraft’s last known lo-

cation by helicopter when the wreckage was spotted, said Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard.

Two rescue swimmers were lowered to investigate.

Local, state and federal agencies had assisted in

the search effort, combing stretches of ice-dotted waters and scouring miles of frozen tundra. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending nine people to the scene from various states.

Averagemonthly

6%YoY perVerizonHome Internethousehold

By Amanda McElfresh| amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

From American traditionslike7 layerdip on SuperBowlSunday, to gettingthe wholefamilyaroundthe tablefor amidweek dinner,peopleare increasingly relyingonthe powerand reliability of digitalnetworkstomake work easy,fun andfulﬁlling.That’sthe messageofVerizon’s 2024 Consumer ConnectionsReport, whichshows how digitalservices arebringingfamilyand friends together to sharedeeperand more meaningful experiences than was ever before possible Sports area cultural touchstone forhundredsofmillions. We play,we watch, we take ourkidstopractice. When it comestosports, we care andwe share. Accordingtothe 2024 Consumer Connectionsreport, during this year’s regular season,Verizon’s NFLfans used approximately960 terabytesof mobile data at NFLstadiumsduring theregular season.One terabyte of data wouldholdaquarter-million high resolution photos or supportsix hours of 4K videostreaming each dayfor a month, so fans arecreating museums andstudiolibraries worthofmemories to document,discuss anddeliver to theirloved ones

“Our5Gnetworkserveseverystadium in thecountry.Weare notonlyserving fans in thestandsbut arepoweringtheir tailgate partiesbeforethe gamesand unique fanexperiences,onthe ﬁeld and

withtheplayers,throughVerizonAccess, said VerizonCEO Hans Vestberg.“This year,we’re also bringing people together in person at theﬁrst-ever nationwide gatheringofNFL fans forthe Super Bowl,Verizon FanFest, with events in 30 locationsaroundthe country. From videototailgateparties, it’s allabout making connections. Aquarter of VerizonNFL fans’ data usageatNFLstadiumswasforstreaming video. Overall, average mobility usage pergamewas up 37 percentthisseason over last,and callswereup8percent Data usagealsoincreasedasthe NFL season went along, with majorspikes formarquee gamesonThanksgiving andChristmas, plus keymatchups, such as thePhiladelphiaEagleswinningthe NFCEastdivisionontheir waytoface theKansasCityChiefsatSuper Bowl LIXonFeb.9,hereinNew Orleans. Toprepare,Verizonhasmadenumerous permanentnetworkupgradesthroughout NewOrleans “Welaid560milesofﬁberinthegreater NewOrleans area,enoughtowrapthe outsideofthe CaesarsSuperdome 869 times,”Vestbergsaid.“Wehaveequipped theSuperdome with enough C-Band andmillimeterwavecapacitytoserve asmall city andhaveenhancedour networkpower throughout theGreater NewOrleans area,which will serveits

visitors,familiesand businesses for many years.”

That meansmorepower forNew Orleanshomes.According to thereport, upto45percent of U.S. households have at leastone smartdevice, andVerizon customersconnect an average of 18 devicestotheir home networks.These caninclude everything from laptops, tablets, televisionsand videogame consolestovideodoorbells,alarmsystems andsmart thermostats, amongothers.

“Between FixedWirelessAccessand Fios,weofferfantastic,high-performance home internet solutionsinthe country, Vestberg said.“Accordingtoour latest report,monthly home data useisnow an averageof656 gigabytes, up almost 6 percentover2023.Wecontinuetoexpand thereach of our5Gnetwork,bringing more powertohomes in suburbanand rural marketsevery day.

Networkedhomes paired with mobile devices help keep families safe andorganized.Verizon’s Gizmosmartwatches arespeciﬁcally designed for kids.The watchespairwiththe GizmoHub app, giving parentsand kids even more ways to stay connected. Last year,according tothereport,caregiversmadeanaverage of 3.3million callsa monthtoGizmo watchwearers TheVerizon Family app, which launched in October2024, includes GPS

location tracking,check-ins for when children arrive or leaveagreed-upon locations, crashdetection andreports on acceleration,braking andphone use. Finally,networksarechanginghowwe shop,withVerizon customerschoosing acombination of online andin-person experiences,basedontheirconvenience 62 percentofpurchases and64percent of upgrades were made in Verizonstores in 2024.Also, 23 percentofcustomers bought from Verizononline, butmost went to astore to pick up theirorders. “Sometimes,they’ll startanorder on ourapp andthen go to thestore to complete thepurchase or pick up the device,” Vestberg said.“Ourcustomers want control, choice andsimplicity. It’s allabout what worksfor them.Offering trulypersonalizedservicesmeanshaving online andrealworld channels for allof ourcustomers,and knowingthatthey mightchangetheir mindsfromone day to thenext.”

PHOTO PROVIDED By U.S COAST GUARD

A recovery crew works the scene Friday of a small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska on a flight that was bound for Nome.

rice, which pairs itself well for food aid because it has high caloric density and an indeﬁnite shelf life.

It’s difficult to estimate just how much Louisiana produces and receives from USAID programs, Klein said, but food aid is a signiﬁcant portion of rice exports from the state. Louisiana is a major U.S. rice producer, and about 75% of the state’s acreage devoted to rice farming lies in Acadia, Jeff Davis, Vermilion, Evangeline and

CEMETERY

Continued from page 1A

business or building permits prior to working on the property at 2512 W. Willow St To obtain the building permit, the property has to be a lot of record and go through the platting process.

When considering Menard’s plan in November, the Planning Commission heard concerns from adjacent property owners over ﬂooding, drainage and traffic for the proposed cemetery But, ultimately, the commission denied the preliminary plat because dirt work was done in the ﬂoodway before approval and burials took place before obtaining permits from LCG, Lebouef said. Menard appealed the decision, saying the commission’s decision was improper because it was based on land use, and his property in the unincorporated part of the parish is unzoned.

The cemetery’s engineer, James Ricks, and surveyor Shawn MacMenamin spoke to council members about work at the property and waivers requested from the Planning Commission for sidewalks and cross-access easements.

When asked if Menard has since come into compliance with LCG, Lebouef said everything his office has requested has now been submitted. The project simply cannot move forward without preliminary plat approval, which the Planning Commission unanimously denied in November

The Parish Council appeared poised to grant Menard’s appeal Tuesday until public comment from Craig Martin, who shared concerns about the appearance of the cemetery and ﬂooding on the property He also said Menard has continued to operate a cemetery on the property despite the plat denial.

“Was there a cease-anddesist order ever granted for this guy?” Martin asked “Because he has buried people since you’ve been notiﬁed. Jan. 11 was the last one. He’d rather ask for forgiveness than ask for permission.”

What will happen Tammy Luke, director of Community Development & Planning, ordered Menard to stop all work at the prop-

St. Landry parishes, recent data shows. “The reality is we just don’t even know the full extent of what is happening,” Klein said. “It’s concerning, but we just don’t know how it’s going to impact the industry as a whole or Louisiana speciﬁcally.”

Millions in USAID money has gone to some of the largest rice mill operations in the state, such as Supreme Rice in Crowley and Farmers Rice Milling Company in Lake Charles, according to a federal database David Warrington, the CFO of Powell Group, which owns Farmers, said their company

has no contracts with USAID.

Supreme Rice CEO Bobby Hanks did not respond to a request for comment

Both company CEOs, however, have defended food aid programs in the past, with Hanks quoting former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, stating, “if goodwill programs like these are not fully funded, ‘then I need to buy more ammunition,’” according to a USA Rice news release.

The Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation also declined to comment State Rep. Troy Romero, a Republican from Jennings

and agricultural committee chair, said he is doing everything in his power to ensure Louisiana rice continues to beneﬁt from USAID While he said there are no guarantees that the food aid programs will be untouched, he believes most of those types of programs will continue to be funded.

“When (the Trump administration) looked into USAID, they found that numerous dollars were going to some crazy things that conservatives may have a problem with,” Romero said. “They’re going to reinstate the stuff that is really important. I cannot imagine that program

— as good as it is — would be one of the ones that they would cut out.” Louisiana rice is an exportdependent crop Frugé said. Between Louisiana and Arkansas, about 50% of the crop is shipped outside of the country, and he estimated 5% to 10% of rice shipped out is for food aid programs. Any disruption to the current market, he said, could lead to overstock and dropping prices as mills try to ﬁnd new international buyers. But Frugé said there is likely misspending within the agency and acknowledged the need for change. Other

rice farmers the Acadiana Advocate spoke to were critical of the agency’s programs and expressed support of the administration’s efforts to cut wasteful spending and pushed harder for a focus on a new Farm Bill. “If Elon and President Trump are going to fix wasteful spending, how else do you go about it?,” Fruge said. “Are they doing it the right way? I don’t know But I would like to think they’re doing it the best way they know how.”

Email Stephen Marcantel at stephen.marcantel@ theadvocate.com.

erty in a Dec 11 cease-anddesist letter sent via email to MacMenamin, Menard’s surveyor Luke told MacMenamin to inform Menard that a permit from LCG is required for commercial

businesses to open and operate, and such a permit could not be issued until a plat was approved for the property in question.

Menard confirmed he buried someone in January

whose family previously purchased a plot on the property He reiterated that the state had issued a license for him to bury on the property

“You can bury in your backyard,” Menard told the council. “So what you would do about that?”

The Parish Council denied to approve Menard’s appeal of the Planning Commission decision in a 2-2 vote.

Council members John Guilbeau and AB Rubin voted to approve Menard’s preliminary plat; Bryan Tabor and Donald Richard voted against. Council member Ken Stansbury was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

Tabor said he was initially in favor of granting the plat approval until he learned that Menard buried somebody on the property a month after receiving the cease-and-desist order

Guilbeau questioned what would happen to the existing graves at the cemetery should Menard exhaust all appeal options. Would the bodies be moved?

City-parish attorney Pat Ottinger said the law is clear that a court can issue a mandatory permanent injunction to undo construction

work that has taken place.

“This is unique for the reasons that are obvious, and you have families that are concerned who might be viewed as innocent in this,” Ottinger said. “This is not just a matter of telling the contractor to unbuild a building because you have families and a very emotional setting involved.”

Coming to light

Nixon knew nothing about the situation until she spoke with a reporter Wednesday at the cemetery, where work continued on the property

During that conversation, Menard showed up and reassured Nixon that he was within his right to continue working on the property

“They have no right to stop me from burial. This is private property,” Menard said.

“They’re just some council of people and all of that. I don’t care what they’re talking about, and they know that.”

Menard said his uncles worked in the industry, and he’s been involved with his own business, Menard’s Burial Vault, for about 20 years. His daughter, who died in a 2021 shooting, is the one who pushed him to

purchase land for his own cemetery Menard said he has retained a lawyer, but he declined to share the attorney’s name. Nixon expressed frustration that Menard did not notify her or other families of recent public meetings concerning the property Nixon said she might have spoken favorably on behalf of Menard’s project had she been informed along the way

“I’m still dumbfounded,” Nixon said after speaking with Menard at the cemetery last week. “I don’t understand.”

On days when it’s too muddy to walk through the property, Nixon sits in her car and looks out onto her husband’s ﬁnal resting place. She hopes that a judge might one day allow her husband to be moved to another cemetery at Menard’s expense.

“It’s like God picked the right person — me,” Nixon said. “I’m straightforward. So what’s been in the dark thus far now has come to the light.”

Email Megan Wyatt at mwyatt@theadvocate. com.

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

A cemetery work truck drives through Serenity Memorial Gardens in Scott on Wednesday.

Edna Nixon

Standoff grows after Trump freezes South African aid

BY STEPHANIE LAI and S’THEMBILE CELE Bloomberg News (TNS)

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump froze all U.S aid to South Africa over what he claimed were rights violations stemming from a new land-expropriation law, as well as its allegations of genocide against Israel.

South Africa’s foreign ministry expressed “great concern that the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy,” in a statement Saturday It reiterated the government’s commitment to ﬁnding “diplomatic solutions to any misunderstandings.”

Trump’s executive order on Friday evening halting assistance escalates a standoff in which South Africa has sought to respond with diplomacy, while maintaining the moral high ground in a nation still scarred by the racist legacy of Whiteminority rule. The U.S. has given South Africa more than $8 billion in bilateral aid over the past two decades. Relations with Washington were already strained by South Africa’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and for its case in the International Court of Justice alleging Israel’s assault in the Gaza Strip was an act of genocide. They worsened this week after Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio falsely claimed South Africa authorities are seizing property under the expropriation law Neither provided any evidence and both ignored President Cyril Ramaphosa’s statement that the assertion is untrue. Trump’s attack saw the South African rand weaken sharply though

it regained lost ground by Friday South Africa has always had expropriation laws — as does the U.S. and other countries that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners, according to the government.

The executive order detailed in a White House statement, claims “the government of South Africa blatantly discriminates against ethnic minority Afrikaners” and says the U.S. will stop providing aid and assistance to the country as long as it “continues to support bad actors on the world stage and allows violent attacks” against minority White farmers.

It also said Pretoria had taken “aggressive positions” against the U.S by pursuing Israel in the ICJ, and for “reinvigorating its relations with Iran.” Iran was among ﬁve countries invited to join the BRICS bloc of emerg-

Leaders in Africa call for ceasefire and negotiations in Congo

BY RODNEY MUHUMUZA

Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda Leaders from eastern and southern Africa on Saturday called for an immediate ceaseﬁre in eastern Congo, where rebels are threatening to overthrow the Congolese government, but also urged Congo’s president to directly negotiate with them.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who attended the summit in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam by videoconference, has previously said he would never talk to the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels he sees as driven to exploit his country’s vast mineral wealth.

A communiqué at the end of talks urged the resumption of “direct negotiations and dialogue with all state and nonstate parties,” in-

cluding M23. The rebels seized Goma, the biggest city in eastern Congo, following ﬁghting that left nearly 3,000 dead and hundreds of thousands of displaced, according to the U.N. The unprecedented joint summit included leaders from the East African Community bloc, of which both Rwanda and Congo are members, and those from the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, which includes countries ranging from Congo to South Africa.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame attended the summit along with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, who has angered the Rwandans by deploying South African troops in eastern Congo under the banner of SADC to ﬁght M23.

SUNDAY NEWS SHOWS

ABC’s “This Week”: Sen. Chris Murphy D-Conn.; Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio.

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: National security adviser Mike Waltz; Sen. Andy Kim, DN.J.

CNN’s “State of the Union”: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Sen. Cory Booker, D–N.J.

CBS’ “Face the Nation”: Sen. Bill Hagerty R-Tenn.; Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Mike McCaul, R-Texas. “Fox News Sunday”: Noem; House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; Sharon Landry, wife of Gov Jeff Landry, R-La.

The Associated Press

ing-market powers during a summit Ramaphosa hosted in Johannesburg.

In addition, the executive order said it would promote the resettlement of White Afrikaans South African farmers and their families in the U.S. as refugees — an offer Pretoria quickly contrasted with Trump’s immigration crackdown at home.

“It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship,” South Africa’s foreign ministry said.

The Solidarity Movement, which says it represents about 2 million Afrikaans speakers, separately voiced its opposition to Trump’s decision and rejected his of-

fer for farmers to settle in America.

“We did not and will not ask for sanctions against South Africa, or that funds for vulnerable people be cut off by the U.S. government,” the group said in a statement.

The group — which said the order has nothing to do with Solidarity or its afﬁliate AfriForum — also rejected an offer by Trump to offer White Afrikaans people refugee status in the US, while lamenting the actions of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress party that got his attention in the ﬁrst place.

“I guess you don’t want to be on Trump’s radar But then you shouldn’t do stupid things,” Kallie Kriel Afriforum’s chief executive officer, said in an interview “You should not go to court and bring lawsuits against one of America’s most important allies. You don’t have to support them, stay neutral.”

Trump weighed in on the land issue during his first term in the White House, asking his then-secretary of state to investigate land seizures in South Africa. And Elon Musk, his South African-born billionaire backer, has spread a conspiracy theory that there is a “genocide” of White people in the country

Land ownership remains a highly contentious issue in South Africa more than three decades after Whiteminority rule ended.

Under apartheid, most Black South Africans were forbidden from owning property White people continue to control the vast majority of farmland, despite accounting for just 7% of the population. The expropriation law gives the government authority to take property in the public interest on condition that the owner receives “just and equitable” compensation. It also contains a provision for nothing to be paid in some instances, such as when land isn’t being used or has been acquired for speculative purposes with no concrete intention to develop it.

Meghashyam Mali, Laura Davison, Rene Vollgraaff, Paul Richardson and Bella Genga contributed to this report.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JEROME DELAy

An employee spreads fertilizer on the farm of John Rankin, a commercial farmer producing corn on an industrial level, in 2018 in Gerdau, North West province, South Africa. President Donald Trump froze all U.S aid to South Africa on Friday

LOUISIANA POLITICS

Nutria goes from financial savior to disputed expense

WASHINGTON — With about six weeks to go before the government shuts down, House Republicans are still bickering over how best to spend taxpayer dollars. But representatives were able to come together on one thing: ﬁnding money for the war on nutria.

Mark Ballard

The U.S. House voted 361-56 late Tuesday night to continue the $60 million Nutria Eradication and Control Reauthorization Act until 2030.

It’s a bipartisan cause that is bigger than just Louisiana. California nutria recently have migrated into food-producing areas along the San Joaquin River

“We’re in a war with giant swamp rats, and our farms, levees and waterways will pay the price if we lose,” said Rep Josh Harder, D-Calif., and chief sponsor of the bill.

But Louisiana is still central to the debate.

“In Louisiana, where more than 432,000 acres were damaged or destroyed by nutria from 2002 to 2021, over 5 million nutria have been taken,” said Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources. “Passing the legislation would allow the successful efforts to continue.”

The fact that even a vote to cull nutria drew 56 “no” votes is a window into the difﬁculties two Louisiana leaders — Speaker Mike

Trump’s idea for Gaza embraced by some WASHINGTON A lot of members of Congress scratched their heads Tuesday night when asked what they thought about President Donald Trump’s apparent hopes to turn warravaged Gaza into a vacation destination. He seemed to indicate that, for the ﬁrst time, the United States would control part of the Middle East.

Hamas, which rules Gaza, attacked Israel and took hostages on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel retaliated and leveled much of the

CAPITOL BUZZ staff reports

Johnson, R-Benton and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson — face in running a house with a historically slim majority

The 56 “no” votes all came from Republicans, many of them members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus. Louisiana’s only current Freedom Caucus member, U.S. Rep Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, skipped the vote.

The other three Republican and two Democratic members of Louisiana’s House delegation voted in favor

“We’re trying to cut trillions. We need to pay attention to the small stuff,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said on NewsNation

Wednesday “The initial announcement yesterday, I think, was greeted with surprise by many but cheered by, I think, people all around the world,” Johnson told reporters. “Why? Because that area is so dangerous and he’s taking bold, decisive action to try to ensure the peace of that region.” Johnson declined to directly answer whether he believed the U.S. should take control of Gaza.

Questions remain, like how the U.S. could control Gaza without sending American mili-

Wednesday “We’re not going to eradicate anything.”

The Freedom Caucus’ demands for massive spending cuts often spook more moderate Republicans and make deals with Democrats impossible. With only a three-seat majority, Johnson and Scalise have very little margin to negotiate a deal that can win the necessary majority Louisiana’s nutria nemesis

The battle against nutria is a long-running saga in Louisiana.

The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for the past 20 years pays $6 per tail. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce has sent the SWAT team since 1995 to

Democratic Rep. Al Green, a New Orleans native who has represented south Houston in the U.S. House for two decades, announced he was preparing articles of impeachment against Trump “for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”

“Ethnic cleansing is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States,” he said.

Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, also criticized the idea.

“What about the people of Gaza?” Carter said Wednesday “At a time when the world should be focused on meaningful solutions to end the suffering in Gaza, President Trump has once again

gun down the critters.

Why the crusade? Nutria eat vegetation and can turn marshes into open water in a matter of days which accelerates coastal land loss. They burrow into embankments, often 10 to 12 feet deep, which destabilizes the berms protecting the ponds in which rice and crawﬁsh grow Rice accounts for about $770 million in the state’s economy and crawﬁsh accounts for another $300 million. They also dig into canal levees that keep water out of subdivisions.

And yet, 95 years ago no nutria lived in Louisiana. Today, an estimated 25 million animals live in south Louisiana, which is a population ﬁve times larger than people living in the state.

Nutria once was coveted for its fur They were brought to Louisiana by state government and economic developers hoping to reinvigorate the state’s fur trade, which had relied on the pelts of muskrats whose populations were declining.

Urban legend gives Edmund Avery McIlhenny credit with starting a nutria fur farm on Avery Island in 1937. His father created Tabasco, and the family still produces the pepper sauce. A dozen or so animals escaped during a hurricane in 1940 and became the ancestors of the current nutria population — or so goes the story

Since the 1960s, changing fashion tastes, followed by concerns over humane treatment of ani-

represents Uptown New Orleans, is back at work even before she completes radiation treatment on Feb. 19. With positive post-surgery pathology reports, Freeman said she is preparing for the upcoming regular session and plans to use some of what she learned during her treatment to help others.

mals and the growth of energy exploration as south Louisiana’s major employer, led to a dramatic decrease in the state’s trapping business, which turned nutria from ﬁnancial savior to ecological menace.

Scholars have pored over Tabasci company archives since the nutria’s reputation changed and discovered a letter from Armand P. Daspit, director of the Louisiana Department of Conservation’s Fur and Wild Life Division. He shared with McIlhenny the idea of importing nutria as a new source of fur California had done it in 1899.

There were at least two other nutria farms in Louisiana: one near Abita Springs and another in St. Bernard, near the Chalmette Battleﬁeld.

On June 1, 1940, a little more than two months before an August storm made landfall near Sabine Pass with 100 miles-perhour winds, McIlhenny wrote in a memo that he had freed seven males and 14 females. He let the state Department of Conservation know

A couple years later he released all the rest several hundred animals — into Iberia Parish marshes.

“My object in liberating them,” McIlhenny wrote in a Nov 2, 1945 letter “is to establish a fur industry on nutria in the waste marshes of Louisiana, and I have succeeded in doing this.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

She is working with doctors to introduce legislation that would require coverage for side effects from cancer treatment, including neuropathy

“Acupuncture is important,” Freeman said. “It’s not always covered by insurance. I would like to see more patients have access to that.” Freeman said she underwent a mammogram in October 2023 that was normal but went to a doctor in June 2024 after feeling a lump. Afterward, during breast cancer awareness month in October last year she said in a radio interview “If something is not going right, you should report that to your doctor.”

Monroe is transforming, fueled by collaboration betweenbusinessleaders, electedofficials, and communitymembers whoshare avisionfor progress. Theresultisasense of enthusiasm andoptimisminNortheast Louisiana, as well as economicdevelopmentprojectsthatarebringing jobsand sendingamessage that theregionisan excellentlocation forfuturegrowth.

“FromrevitalizingDowntownMonroeto improvinginfrastructureand expandingrecreationalspaces,every step we take is focusedon makingMonroeabetterplaceforeveryone,”said MayorFridayEllis.“Theseprojectsare allabout building astronger, more connectedcommunity thatwillbeneﬁtourresidents,futuregenerations andNortheast Louisianaasawhole.”

At theheart of Monroe’s successisaspiritof partnership.TheMonroeChamberofCommerce hasbeenatthe forefrontofthiscollaboration, bringing together keystakeholderstodrive progress andinnovation. In January2024, eight localbusinessesunitedtocreate Leadersof Change,acollectiveefforttoupliftand energize thecommunity.The 2024 LeadersofChangeare EPC,Entergy,MidSouthExtrusion,NELAMAC, Origin Bank,St. FrancisHealth, HeardMcElroy andVestal, andHolyﬁeldConstruction. Kinetix andDRAXwilljointhisyear.

“A lotoftimes,peopleare afraid of change,but notinMonroe,”saidRoy Heatherly, President andCEO of theMonroeChamber of Commerce “Mayor Ellisand ourLeadersofChangeare embracingand leading positive change forour area.Theyhave an unapologetic love forthis great placewecallhome.

Business Development

Formorethan20years,Northeast Louisiana leadershave invested in site identificationand preparation, making this region home to more Certified Sitesthanany otherinthe state. Positioned betweenDallasand Atlanta, Monroe offersaprime logistical advantage, with access to Interstate 20 anddaily flights from Monroe Regional Airport(MLU),connectingbusinesses to global markets. As theregionattractsmajor investments, includingMeta’s$10 billiondata center in neighboringRichlandParishand Amazon’s56,000-square-footdistributionfacility Monroecontinuestostrengthenitsinfrastructure andworkforce to meet thedemands of arapidly evolving economy To furtherenhance connectivity,the City of Monroe is workingona proposed passengerrail servicelinking Dallas andAtlanta,withakey

stop in Monroe.Backedbya$400,000 Federal Railroad Administration grantand ledbythe Southern Rail Commission,the projectincludes adowntownterminal. Monroe,inpartnership with RustonandShreveport, hasalsoapplied for aRAISE granttofundamodernAmtrakstation, ensuring seamless transportation optionsfor businesses andresidents

Powerinfrastructureisanothercriticalfactor in Monroe’s economicdevelopment strategy “Entergy also playsanimportant role.Theyare an integral pieceofall projects,whether it’s a data center,asawmill,aneducation institution or anythingelse,”saidRob Cleveland, CEOof Grow NELA.“Companiesare lookingfor sites andbuildings, andtheir next question is about power.Wehaveanincrediblycollaborativeenergy partnerthatiswell-respectedbycompanies and consultantsaroundthe country.

Monroe is also positioningitselfasaleader in biomedical,pharmaceutical,agricultural, andfoodtechnologywiththe Biomedical ResearchandInnovationPark(BRIP).Expected to be completedinlate2026, BRIP will providestate-of-the-art infrastructure to supportstartupsand establishedcompanies Already, theparkiscollaborating with businesses specializing in cancer research,dual-use technology forthe Department of Defense, and agricultural innovation

Localhealthcareprovidersarealsoembracing technology to improvecare. “The integrationof digitalhealthtools such as telemedicine,electronic health records, andAI-driven diagnostics is enhancingthe qualityand accessibility of care,” said TerriMitchell, executivedirector of WorkforceDevelopment Board83and NELA HealthcareAllianceConvener.Monroeispreparingfor thefuture, ensuring theregionremains acompetitive andthrivinghub forinnovation.

Education

LouisianaDelta CommunityCollege (LDCC) with eightcampusesacrossNortheast Louisiana, offersnearly40programsand continues to expand.Atits Bastropcampus, allied health students traininahigh-tech simulatedhospital usinglifelikemannequinsand virtualreality MedicalLab Technician students gain hands-on experiencewithindustry-standardequipment whileautomotivemechanicstudentstrain with advanced diagnostic tools, includingone of the region’s only all-wheelDynojets.

In December 2024,LDCC’sfirst cohort of teacherapprentices graduatedand willcontinue

theirpathtocertiﬁcationatthe University of LouisianaMonroe(ULM) within threeyears

As theregion’slargest higher educationinstitution,ULM serves as an anchor forcommunity improvement.Recentinitiativessuchasamobile pharmacy,mobiledentalunit, andaproject to measureweather data allowstudents to learn outsideofthe classroomwhile also providing services,saidULMVicePresidentofEnrollment Management&UniversityRelationsLisaMiller. AnotherULMprojectwasdesignedtoimprove readingskillsamong localthird-grade students Theuniversityprovidedacopyofafaculty-authored book to allthirdgradersinOuachita Parish andisexpanding thedistribution to the 12-parishregionULM serves

“Those thirdgraderswillbeour freshman classwhenweturn100 yearsold.Wecallthem ourCentennialScholars,”Millersaid. “The ﬁrst page of thebooktells them that andprovides them a$500scholarship.We’re also building a programtofollowthemevery year andengage them in campus activities.”

Miller addedthatinrecentyears,ULM reviewed itsacademicofferings with consultants. Thefeedbackwas positive,withthe main suggestion to create more nicheprograms. As a result,ULM is developing anew undergraduate disastermanagementprogramandjustaccepted thesecondclass in itsDoctorate of Physical Therapyprogram

“Our facultyand academic leadersare always lookingatwaystobettermeetthe needsofthe stateand ourstudents,” Miller said Healthcare

Healthcare is thelargest sector in theMonroe region,employing22percent of theworkforce “Providersrecognizethe importance of recruiting, developing andretaining thehealthcare workforcetoensureresidentsreceivetop-quality care.These organizations have come together in an ongoingnetwork,The NortheastLouisianaHealthcareAlliance, to tackle workforce issues,networkingopportunities andpressing policy topics that warrantcollectiveaction, Mitchell said “InMonroe, thehealthcareindustryhas created asigniﬁcantnumberofjobs, ranging from clinicalpositions like doctors, nurses and technicianstoadministrative roles, health IT specialistsandsupportstaff,”Mitchellcontinued. “Moreover, thepresenceofarobusthealthcare system attracts otherbusinesses, boostslocal spendingandcancontributetogrowthinsectors

like medicalresearch, pharmaceuticalsand health technology.”

AsaleadinghealthcareinstitutioninNortheast Louisianafor over 110years,St. FrancisHealth provides awiderange of specialized services, includingthe region’s only LevelIII NICU OB-ED, LevelIII OB andLevel II PICU,ensuring comprehensivecarefor womenand children Dedicatedtoclinicalexcellence, thehospital offers aLevel III Trauma Center,Advanced PrimaryStrokeCenterand ChestPainCenter with CPI, as well as CentersofExcellencein bariatricsurgery,minimally invasive surgery, roboticsurgery,minimally invasive gynecology breast health andspecialized anesthesia Meanwhile, TheEdwardVia Collegeof OsteopathicMedicine(VCOM)onthe ULM campus graduatedLouisiana’s firstclass of osteopathicphysiciansin2024.Morethanathird of VCOM-Louisiana students arefromLouisiana, andnearlyaquarter of VCOM graduates practice within 75 milesoftheir hometowns. VCOM-Louisianahas more than 600students and139 were in itsﬁrstgraduatingclass

“AtVCOM-Louisiana,weare committed to empowering thenextgenerationofphysicians to servewithexcellence, compassion andinnovation.Monroeisthe heartofthatmission whereeducationmeetscommunityimpact,”said VCOM-LouisianaDeanMarkSanders OchsnerLSUHealth–MonroeMedicalCenter isa233-bedhospitalwiththearea’sonly24-hour fullystaffed EmergencyDepartment andNortheast Louisiana’sﬁrstLevel III trauma center. OchsnerLSU Health –MonroeMedical Center is also thearea’s only PrimaryStrokeHospital, hasearnedthe BirthReady designationfromthe stateand hasbeenrecognizedbyNewsweekas atop maternityhospital.

“Ochsner LSUHealthMonroeisavital pillar of health andinnovation,”saidCEO Mark Randolph.“By leveraging advanced technologiesand delivering thehighest qualitycare, we aretransforminghealthcareoutcomesand empowering individualstoleadhealthier lives.” Monroe isn’tjust growing—it’s thriving.With bold leadership,strategic investments, and unwavering collaboration, thecityisredeﬁning what’s possible.The momentum is unstoppable, thevisionisclear,and thefutureisbright. Monroe is building more than progress—it’s building alegacy Learnmoreabout Monroe: https://www.moreinmonroe.com/

articleisbrought to youbythe Monroe ChamberofCommerce.

Press Conference

EDUCATION

Trump is targeting antisemitism in schools

BY COLLIN BINKLEY and BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS AP education writers

WASHINGTON

The federal ofﬁce

that enforces civil rights at schools across the U.S. has been ordered to prioritize complaints of antisemitism above all else as it molds to President Donald Trump’s agenda, raising fears that other rights violations will go unpunished

Trump’s new leader of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights told staff this week they will be expected to aggressively pursue complaints involving antisemitism and hew closely to Trump’s wishes, according to sources who were on the call with Craig Trainor acting assistant secretary for civil rights

Already there are signs of a hard turn on civil rights enforcement, including new actions focused squarely on anti-Jewish bias and transgender issues.

Responding to a White House order last week, the ofﬁce launched new antisemitism investigations at ﬁve universities including Columbia and Northwestern. Days earlier, it opened an inquiry into Denver public schools over an allgender bathroom that replaced a girls’ bathroom while leaving another one exclusive to boys.

On Wednesday, Trump ordered schools that receive federal money to ban transgender girls from participating in women’s sports, promising the Education Department would investigate schools and colleges that don’t comply

The office’s fleet of lawyers have mostly been sidelined while the new administration shifts priorities. Daily work has been frozen, which is typical when a new president takes office, but sources say there’s a new blackout on com-

munication with schools, colleges or those submitting complaints. Questions about how to enforce Title IX go unanswered, leaving schools in the dark as they navigate a new memo from the agency last week

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

In the staff call, Trainor said the ofﬁce must be more aggressive and faster than it was under former President Joe Biden. He accused the previous administration of neglecting its duty to ﬁght antisemitism, leaving more than 100 cases open. Trump has called for a review of all antisemitism cases opened since Hamas’ attack

on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, including those resolved under Biden.

With a rigid focus on antisemitism and gender identity, there’s fear the ofﬁce won’t give adequate attention to racial discrimination, mistreatment based on disability, or Islamophobia.

The ofﬁce is required to process all complaints it ﬁelds, but politics can play a role in setting priorities and choosing which cases to pursue.

Raymond Pierce, who led the office under Democratic President Bill Clinton, said focusing on antisemitism alone doesn’t fulfill the mission of the office — to enforce civil rights laws.

“Antisemitism is an issue,” he

said. “But the Civil Rights Act is broader than just religion.”

In a statement, Trainor promised his ofﬁce “will vigorously investigate all alleged violations of civil rights laws within its purview.”

Trainor had also warned staff of a coming “restructuring” and acknowledged that Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efﬁciency is examining the Education Department. It raised worries about staffing cuts in a civil rights office that has seen dwindling numbers even as it received a record 22,687 complaints last year

Additionally, there’s concern Trump in his quest to shut down the Education Department will slash the ofﬁce’s budget and move it to the Justice Department, as suggested in the Project 2025 blueprint created by the conservative Heritage Foundation.

The impact of Trump’s changes are most likely to be felt by Black students and those who are disabled, according to lawyers and advocates. For decades, the Ofﬁce for Civil Rights has worked to force equal access for marginalized students, said Derek W. Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina.

If the ofﬁce ﬁnds merit in a complaint, it has the power to withhold federal funding until schools or states comply

“Are there local and state ofﬁcials who want to do right by kids?

Of course, there are,” Black said.

“But are there districts that don’t think it’s a big deal or don’t want to do right by poor kids? Unfortunately, there are.”

Historically, most complaints to the department have involved disability discrimination, but last year accusations of sex discrimination surged to account for more than half of all complaints, according to an annual report. Disability discrimination accounted for 37%, while discrimination over race or

WE’RE ASKING EXPERTS ACROSS THE STATE HOW TO TACKLE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING LOUISIANA SCHOOLS. HAVE AN IDEA?

national origin accounted for 19%.

In addition to its duty to investigate complaints, the ofﬁce creates federal rules to interpret federal law for schools and colleges. That role has been at the center of a political tug-of-war over Title IX, with recent administrations repeatedly rewriting the rules governing investigations of campus sexual misconduct.

The Biden administration issued new rules last year expanding Title IX to protect transgender and LGBTQ+ students, and boosting victims’ rights. A federal judge overturned the rules in January, reverting to a previous set of rules from Trump’s ﬁrst term.

In a memo to schools and colleges last week, the Ofﬁce for Civil Rights emphasized that the earlier Trump rules would be enforced, but it created confusion about how to handle cases that were opened when Biden’s rules were in effect. With no communication from the department, there has been little clarity for schools.

There are also questions about how antisemitism investigations will change. Trump has used heated rhetoric to push for more aggressive action against colleges found to have tolerated antisemitism, and Trainor blasted the Biden administration for signing “toothless” agreements to resolve cases. No new guidance has been issued to lawyers who investigate cases.

As the ofﬁce awaits orders to resume its work, it faces a growing backlog of complaints.

Before Trump took ofﬁce, there were more than 140 open investigations involving shared ancestry, many of them dealing with antisemitism or Islamophobia.

The Biden administration opened more than 100 investigations after Oct. 7, 2023. A ﬂurry of schools reached deals to settle the cases before Trump took ofﬁce amid fears that he would issue heavier sanctions.

Academic researchers concerned by Trump’s DEI

Graves, a biology professor

BY OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ, TERRY CHEA and MAKIYA SEMINERA Associated Press

BERKELEY, Calif. — President

Donald Trump’s crackdown on diversity equity and inclusion initiatives in programs receiving federal money has thrown into doubt the future of research Kendra Dahmer has been doing on intestinal parasites in India and Benin. Dahmer, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, has a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the single largest public funder of biomedical research in the world.

The grant is supposed to cover her research through the summer of 2026, but now she wonders if that will be possible. She received diversity-based funding as the ﬁrst college graduate in her family and a woman in science and, more broadly she is uncertain how Trump’s anti-DEI executive order could affect support for her areas of study

“There’s also this aspect of research that funds speciﬁc studies in specific populations that are now being deemed DEI,” Dahmer said.

“So, like HIV research in Africa may be deemed DEI, malaria research, which also happens in low and middle income countries, may be considered DEI. And these are really important diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people every year.”

Two days after Trump signed the executive order on DEI on Jan. 21 researchers became even more alarmed when the White House called for a funding freeze to conduct an ideological review of all federal grants and loans. After days of chaos and legal wrangling, two judges intervened and

the administration rescinded the freeze. The National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, which fund a large chunk of research in the country, last week began releasing grants. But that hasn’t eased the fears of scientists and researchers whose work is funded by federal grants.

The NSF said it is still conducting a review of “projects, programs and activities to be compliant with the existing executive orders.”

It’s not yet clear what may happen to new and existing NIH grants either On Friday night, the NIH announced it was cutting payments toward overhead costs for research institutions that receive its grants, a policy that could leave universities with major budget gaps. Currently, some universities receive 50% or more of the amount of a grant to put toward support staff and other needs, but that would be capped at 15%.

Universities, which received almost $60 billion for research in the 2023 fiscal year, have been mostly quiet, explaining in statements to

their staff and students they are still trying to clarify the implications of the executive order on DEI. Meantime, they are navigating the order’s impact on their own institutional policies supporting underrepresented students.

The University of California said in a statement it is “evaluating recent executive orders issued by President Trump and the subsequent agency guidance to understand their potential impact on our communities.”

Even though there is no clarity on the new policies yet, some projects already have been put on hold amid uncertainty over the future of research touching on issues related to diversity, said Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors.

Some of the studies already being halted include research on artiﬁcial intelligence and how racism can be coded into systems, he said.

Other projects Wolfson has heard about getting stopped include research on health equity and studies on the urban literacy rate as it relates

to class in places with large concentrations of Black people.

“I think the people who are making these decisions are very clear that they want to create a society that’s based on deep-set inequities that are hard baked and don’t transform whether that’s around race, whether that’s around class, whether that’s around gender,” he said.

The Education Department did not respond to an email message seeking comment.

Threats to funding for research related to DEI could eliminate a lifeline for historically Black colleges and universities, which are already significantly underfunded compared to predominantly White institutions.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the largest HBCU in the country, has been on a yearslong mission to become one of the ﬁrst to reach R1 status — a distinction from the Carnegie Foundation that denotes a university as having high research activity but the president’s intervention on federal funding could slow that down, said Joseph

As it is, biology department students have to conduct research in hats and gloves during the winter because of a lack of heat in the old building, he said.

New scrutiny on federal research grants could also hurt students at HBCUs who have federally funded fellowships for research, Graves said. Those scholarships, which could be at risk, allow minority students to pursue opportunities they might not have

been able to afford. The Trump administration’s perception of diversity, equity and inclusion could make HBCUs a target because of its high population of minority students, Graves said.

“They will look at our excellence in doing work that is changing the demography of science, and they will attack it as DEI,” Graves said. “Whatever we do, we’re doing DEI whether they like it or not.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By TERRy CHEA

Kendra Dahmer a postdoctoral researcher studying infectious disease, works Monday in a laboratory at the University of California-Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif.

“Such

Fish kills reported after record snow

Trout, redfish, drum among thousands

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

Louisiana’s record freeze and snowstorm last month killed many thousands of ﬁsh, but marine conditions were not as severe as a 1989 cold snap, and time will tell if species such as speckled trout and redﬁsh were badly affected biologists with the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said

Funeral for El Sido’s owner planned

Staff report

Funeral arrangements have been announced for Sid Williams, a central figure in Louisiana’s zydeco scene for 40 years Williams died Feb. 2 at the age of 73. He was a native of St. Martinville, and his dance hall, El Sido’s at 1523 N. St. Antoine St., Lafayette, is one of the region’s only remaining original zydeco clubs. There will be a funeral Mass at 10 a.m Wednesday at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Lafayette. Williams’ family will receive visitors Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., and a

The department had investigated 77 ﬁsh kills statewide through Thursday, most discovered by its own teams searching for them.

The dead fish included 12,552 speckled trout, 6,568 redﬁsh, 2,142 black drum, 2,657 sheepshead and 19,107 striped mullet.

Most of the dead trout, redﬁsh and drum were found in the Terrebonne/Timbalier Basin, while most sheepshead were in the Bara-

taria Basin and mullet in the Pontchartrain Basin, department data shows. The data showed “concentrations of kills occurring in some areas where fish likely did not have time to leave shallower areas or have access to deep enough, slightly warmer, water readily available in which to take refuge,” biologists said in a report supplied to the state’s Wildlife and Fisheries

found dead

Commission. “Coastal water levels were already somewhat lower prior to the Arctic blast and ﬁsh may have moved to deeper waters prior to those areas reaching critical water temperatures.”

When water temperatures drop below 40 degrees and remain there for more than a day conditions can be fatal for saltwater ﬁsh. The cold weather the week of Jan. 20 led to

water temperatures below that point across coastal Louisiana, with some areas remaining there for four days.

Though the snowfall was record-breaking, with as much as 12 inches falling in some areas, the freeze was not as severe as the one in 1989 in relation to south Louisiana’s water bodies. The department noted that the 1989 freeze led to ice forming on Lake Pontchartrain and other large coastal water

ä See FUNERAL, page 2B ä

Woman charged with carnal knowledge of teenager

BLOTTER staff reports

Eunice Police arrested Victoria Rideaux, 31, of Eunice, Jan. 29 on outstanding bench warrants from St. Landry Parish for aggravated battery, simple assault, assault with a firearm resisting an ofﬁcer, possession of stolen goods, and numerous traffic related offenses. On the same date, the mother of a 15-year-old boy told Eunice Police that Rideaux had been having sexual intercourse and interactions with the boy, according to news reports. After an investigation, Eunice

ä See BLOTTER, page 2B

Barry Dupuis serves a bowl of his chicken and sausage jambalaya during The

Cookoff 2025 on Saturday at the Afﬁliated Blind of Louisiana in Lafayette. The event aimed to bring awareness to the visually impaired community and included visually impaired chefs, judges and participants.

TASTE TESTING

ABOVE: Victoria Zaunbrecher feeds a bite of pastalaya to her son, Henry Zaunbrecher, 2. RIGHT: Donetha Clary serves a sample of her chicken and sausage gumbo.

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE

Gumbalaya

See FISH, page 2B

N.O. Frenchmen Street hotel plans return after delay

Big Freedia eyes turning blighted building into boutique site

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Freedia is partnering on the project with developer Zach Kupperman, who leads the investor group that has owned the building since 2021. Under the terms of a deal that was recently ﬁnalized, Freedia and Kupperman will buy out Kupperman’s existing partners and work together to renovate the building Constru tion is slated t be

a much larger foothold in the neighborhood and enabled her to open a full-scale music club. At the time, the hotel was facing a foreclosure threat from its out-of-state investors and owed more than $1 million to local contractors and vendors, according to documents ﬁled with the Orleans Parish Clerk of Court.

Frenchmen St., which abuts 2114 Decatur The move

Hotel Freedia. “We needed to get moving on it,” he said.

Plans for Hotel Freedia come as Frenchmen Street is struggling to balance its popularity as a late-night destination for tourists in search of a street-party scene with its roots as a funky strip of jazz clubs showcasing authentic, live local music. Martin said Freedia hopes to pl rol in cleaning up creating a space performers. e in the street,” don’t want it to Bourbon Light. We be local owners invested in doing Kupperman becollaborating on the idea project in 2021, and bought the buildHotel Freedia mind. Kupperman new generation of developers in the city, high-profile projects St. Vincent, the and a planned Trader Joe’s on Napoleon Avenue.

Hotel Freedia is more

modest than those projects. The property includes a 4,800-square-foot building with two floors and an adjacent space that originally housed a garage. Kupperman has demolished the garage, which was partially destroyed by a ﬁre. The restaurant and music venue will be located

Mi arishes want $36 million for juvenile jail

BY CHRIST CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

er than money on Pari

The proposal for a 56-bed lockup follows the state’s tough-on-crime legislative push in 2024. The state funding application, obtained via a records request by The Advocate, was submitted earlier this year by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce and the River Parishes Juvenile Justice District. The district includes Ascension, Assumption, St. James, St. John the

FUNERAL

Continued from pag

62,151-square-foot jail is

ning for another juvenile jail began several years ago, yet it will likely be years before a new one is built if a stateappointed commission approves it.

“It’s not that we want to just hold more juveniles. I mean, I think it would be fantastic for everybody if we didn’t have to hold any, but that’s just not reality,” he said. “Some juveniles really commit serious crimes.”

The long-term sustainability and need for a 56-bed youth jail, which the propos says can be expanded to 72 beds, remains an open question The New Orleans enile center has 76 beds, he East Baton Rouge venile center’s capacity is 36. And other parishes across the state are competing for the same funds, including a proposed 841-bed jail in Lafayette Parish, according to reporting by The Lens. Richard Pittman, director of juvenile defender services for the former Louisiana Public Defender Board between 2013 and 2024, said the overall number of youths statewide in custody has decreased.

“When I started there, it was in the middle of a longterm trend of reducing the number of children in custody,” he said. “… This was also in the middle of a long-term downward trend in youthful offending, and an upward

trend in reform efforts and reform legislation.”

State Sen. Gregory Miller, R-Norco, drafted the 2023 law that created the River Parishes Juvenile Justice District According to the proposal for the new jail, legislators are working to add Lafourche Parish to it

The state has allocated $150 million for grants for juvenile detention centers, adult jails, buildings for parish sheriffs and restoration to buildings owned by the Office of Juvenile Justice.

State Sen Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, said at an August meeting that $100 million was available for the ﬁrst round of funding.

Pittman said the state’s model was a good idea, but questioned whether the state needs such a large expansion of juvenile jail space.

“If we’re going to have detention centers, having regionalized detention centers where different jurisdictions now share the cost,

share the burden, share the risk of putting all this money together is actually not a bad way to do it,” he said.

“That that’s actually kind of a preferred model of how to do it.”

The juvenile justice district plans to levy a 0.75 tax millage across the parishes within it to raise an estimated $5.2 million annually, with additional funds of close to $2 million annually anticipated to come from the state paying to house juveniles in secure care.

That type of secure care is used for more serious offenses, according to the Louisiana Ofﬁce of Juvenile Justice. The office’s data shows 480 youths were held in secure care in the final quarter of 2024.

A little over a decade ago, the St. James Parish juvenile detention center closed. A few years later, Assumption Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon closed that parish’s juvenile detention center due to a

lack of funding. But Falcon said he supported the new proposal, since the state plans to reimburse local districts for 30% of the juvenile detention beds whether they are ﬁlled or not.

St. Charles Parish Sheriff Champagne said he currently has one youth in a securecare facility in Mississippi, highlighting the need for a local jail. But he said the parish sometimes goes months without any juveniles in pretrial detention.

FRIDAY, FEB 7, 2025 PICK 3: 2-9-5 PICK 4: 6-3-3-0 PICK 5: 4-6-0-7-6 MEGA MILLIONS: 4-24-32-41-55

MEGA BALL: 16 MEGAPLIER: 2 Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

rosary 9 at Te ette. star mous pro Cajun on “Parts with mentar dain. the no in one Thanksgivingathe s Susanna ayette; Rhonda ly and of hree lliams, ofonet three

BLO

Continued from pag

police arrested Rideaux and charged her with carnal knowledge of a juvenile, contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, and molestation of a juvenile.

forDaiquiri

along the Evangeline ThruwayinLafayette.The business suffered significant damagenearlya

Rideaux has been booked into the St. Landry Parish Correctional Facility, according to the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

Parents accused of kidnapping child

A husband and wife were arrested Wednesday after allegedly kidnapping their daughter from her grandparents, who had been awarded custody of the child, authorities said. Blake LeMaire, 40, and Jacqueline LeMaire, 42, were each charged with interfering with the custody of a child, simple assault and home invasion.

original location for its returning customers, she noted, “but it was bigenough for us to do adrivethru plus it had cooler spaces for us to store our daiquiris and crawﬁsh,” Louvierre said. The building,which became available when the franchisee for that location closed it along with another in Lafayette in December,isdoublethe size of their old building. Louvierre said they may expand the menu to includea seafoodmarket located at the entrance ofthe business.

“Weare trying ourhardest to getopen as soon as we can,” Louvierre said. “Wemiss interacting with our customers in the public, and we are just excited to get back up and running as soon as we can.” Other businesses have opened in the four-unit business center at 417 NE EvangelineThruway,

prop y ag Vermilion Parish sheriff’s deputies were alerted to a possible kidnapping at about 6:45 p.m Wednesday on Maple Street south of Abbeville. Deputies were told by the complainants they had been awarded custody of their granddaughter, and that the girl’s parents arrived to take the child contrary to court orders. The vehicle was seen in camera entering Iberia Parish. Iberia Parish sheriff’s deputies and New Iberia police ofﬁcers located and stopped the car in New Iberia, near the intersection of La. 14 and Avery Island Road, ofﬁcials said The LeMaires were arrested without incident, booked into the Iberia Parish Jail and subsequently transferred to the Vermilion Parish Jail. The girl was returned to her grandparents, authorities said.

which owner Vincent Starwood opened bought last summer and has since worked to put back into commerce. Abody contour shop and a laundromat will openinthe development, which wasthe former Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics. It already houses asmall grocerystore,called Starwood Marketplace, and a beauty salon/barbershop.

“Everywhere you go, you gotta get on the road and go to the otherside of town to get anything you need,” Starwoodsaid. “And Isaid I’ll put a smallgrocerystore there to help the community out. It was just heartbreakingwhen Isee these older folks get on the bus to go all the way on the other side of town justtoget groceries because everythingonour side of town seemstonot be important.” Starwood said he used his own moneytobuy the abandonedofﬁce, whichlies in an “opportunity zone.”Heused most of his military money to help get his businessupand running.

bodies, which did not occur this time.

agowhen the former locationburneddown.

When it comes to marine life, this winter so far has been similar to those of 1996, 2000 and 2014 in severity, the department found, using an index it employs to track such data.

The lingering effects on fish populations are not generally known until a year or two afterward, and the total number of fish killed is likely to be higher than what has been reported. The department said anglers should expect fishing to be below average in the months ahead and possibly worse if there were far more fish kills than reported.

“I called everyresourcein Lafayette to help me, even with thiscoronavirus,” he said. “The government claimed to have all these resourcesfor smallbusinesses, but we couldn’tseem to ﬁnd adollar of it.” Other developments along the Thruway include: n Baton Rouge attorneys Harry DanielsIII andChristopher Washington bought property at 718 NW Evangeline Thruway and later at 800 NW Evangeline Thruway.Attempts to reach them were unsuccessful.Work beganearlier last month on the ﬁrst property n Theformer car dealership at 1406 NE Evangeline Thruway is under contract, according to the statecommercialproperty database.

whichwas used

“You can probably expect some lower landings this year as a result,” Jason Adriance, the department’s ﬁnﬁsh program manager, told the commission on Thursday

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER A building is shown on Decatur Street in New Orleans in January 2023, where Bounce ar business

Steven Marc

Steven Marc Dugal,60, of Mandeville, LA, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones. Adevoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Steven's life was defined by his unwavering love for family, his deep faith, and his commitment to leaving alasting legacy.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Lisa Romero Dugal, with whom he built alife full of love, laughter, and cherished memories. He was aproud fatherto Kathryn Nicole Dugal Simpson (Shelby) and Nicholas Alvin Dugal (Christina), and the adored "Doogie" to his grandchildren, Reid Andrew Dugal, Adalyn Rose Simpson, Rowan Allen Simpson, and Rhyatt Alvin Simpson. His grandpup, Odysseus, and his beloved dogs, Buster and Boomer, were also part of his ever-growing circle of love. He is also survived by his siblings, Robert Dugal,Dianne Dugal (TJ), Edgar Dugal III, Rebecca Caruso (Keith), DwayneDugal (Sheri), and Matthew Dugal,aswell as his stepfathers, Phil Norse and Jim Burleigh.

Steven now joins his mother, Barbara Breaux Burleigh; his father, Gene Dugal; his father-in-law, Donald J. Romero; and his best friend, Will S Hornsby, in eternal rest.

most. He loved horsesand watching horse races, spending time at his Lakehouse, and in the mountains of Crested Butte. Steven also found great peace and comfortin his faith, and he lovedto pray the rosary. Steven's legacy is one of love, faith, and generosity. His impact on the lives of those around himwill continue to be felt for generations to come.His family finds comfort in knowing that his spirit will forever liveonintheir hearts and in the countless lives he touched.

Relativesand friends are invitedtoattend the Funeral Mass at Mary Queen of PeaceCatholic Church, 1501 WCauseway Approach, Mandeville,LA 70471 on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 12:00 Noon with visitation at the church beginning at 10:00 AM Burial will follow the services in St. Charles BorromeoChurch Cemetery, 174 Church St, Grand Coteau, LA 70541 under the direction and care of Grace Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Steven may be made to Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation or any local charityofyour choice. Donations may be made at ¬www.nashvilled ominican.orgormailedto 801 Dominican Drive, Nashville, TN 37228-1909. Fond memories can be shared with the Dugal Family at www.gracenorth shore.com.

Smart, Adele Marie Petrillo

("Nick") Patrick Smart and wife Dominque Van Howe Smart of La Jolla, CA,Erin

Kathleen Holley of Charleston, SC, Andrew Michael Smart, John ("Jack") Alexander Smart, and Lucas ("Luke")

Anthony Smart,all of San Diego, CA.Adele was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 64 years, Burton ("Burt") Smart II and her parents, William Santo Petrilloand Adele Petroll Petrillo.

Adele was born September 16, 1936 in Manhattan and grew up in Buffalo, New York. She graduated from the Buffalo Seminary at the ageof16. Adele joined the Cornell University Class of 1957 where she met and married Burt.After their wedding and Burt's Cornell graduation in 1955, they moved to Iowa where Adele graduated from the University of Iowa witha BA degree in English, while Burt earned his MS in Geology. From Iowa, they moved to NewOrleans, LA in 1957, where she worked as an editor on the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at Tulane Medical School, then to Houma, LA in 1962, ultimately settling in Lafayette, LA in 1963 establishing the family home on Marilyn Drivewhere Kay and Mike were raised In 1986, they purchased a beachfront townhome in Destin, FL which they enjoyed withfamily and friends.

nis great, Arthur Ashe, pre-

sented Adele with the Louisiana Tennis Association Outstanding Service Award.She is a named donor at the Hilliard Art Museum of UL and was alongtime member of the Friends of the Humanities. As adedicated and long-serving Regional Vice-President of the Cornell Class of '57, she traveled theEast Coast attending annual reunion planning meetings. Adele treasured attending many of both her and Burt's quinquennial Cornell Class reunions on campus in Ithaca, NewYork, culminating with her 60th in 2017.

Faith was an important part of Adele's life. She was adevoted member of the congregationatSt. Barnabas Episcopal Church, where she served many years in the Altar Guild Busy as Adelewas, and though miles often separated her from her beloved children and grandchildren, distance never kept her from being adevoted presence in their lives. She stayed closely connected, always keeping up with their milestones and celebrating their achievements. Burt would caution friends not to ask about the grandchildren unless they were ready to "settle in."

ments. Burt would caution friends not to ask about the grandchildren unless they wereready to "settle in."

Adele built alife filled with wisdom and generosity, always making sure her loved ones knew they were cherished. Whether through phonecalls, cards, texts, voice memos, or joyous visits for birthdays, graduations, andmost recently the June 2024 wedding of Nick and Dominique in Temecula, CA, she remained aguiding force and constant source of support. Adele found new joy and community when she moved to TheBlake in Lafayette in 2022, forming meaningful friendships and days filled with laughter, conversation, activities, field trips, yoga, exercise classes, Bible study, walking club, games, live music, and dancing. Her closest friend, George Howell, shared her passion for classical music,religion, philosophy, politics, and sports.

will officiate. Visitation will be observed at St. Barnabas from 9AM and will continue until time of services. Graveside services will be held

Aproud UL Lafayette alum and retired managing partner for Northwestern Mutual, Steven was aleader and mentor, inspiring countlesscolleagues and clients with his wisdom and integrity. Beyond his professional success, he was aman who found true joy in the simple pleasures of life—playing tennis and golf, giving back to his community, and, most importantly,spending time with the people he loved most. He loved horses and watching horse races, spending time at his Lakehouse, and in the mountains of Crested Butte. Steven also found great peace and comfortin his faith, and he loved to pray the rosary. Steven's legacy is one of love, faith, and generosity His impact on the livesof those around him will continue to be felt for generations to come. His family finds comfort in knowing that his spirit will forever live on in their hearts and in the countless lives he touched. Relatives and friends made at ¬www.nashvilled ominican.org or mailed to 801 Dominican Drive, Nashville, TN 37228-1909. Fond memories can be shared with the Dugal Family at www.gracenorth shore.com.

Adele Marie Petrillo Smart passed away on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 in Lafayette,LA. Survivors include her daughter, Kathryn ("Kay") Adele Smart Holley, and husband, Kevin Holley, of Destin, FL, herson, Michael ("Mike") William Smart and wife, Ellen Deshotels Smart, of Glenbrook, NV, and hergrandchildren, Shannon Adele Holley of Fort Worth, TX, Nicholas ("Nick") Patrick Smart and wife Dominque VanHowe Smart of La Jolla, CA, Erin Kathleen Holleyof Charleston, SC, Andrew Michael Smart, John ("Jack") Alexander Smart, and Lucas ("Luke") Anthony Smart, allofSan Diego, CA. Adele was precededindeath by her beloved husband of 64 years, Burton ("Burt") Smart II and her parents, William Santo Petrillo and Adele Petroll Petrillo

Adele was born September 16, 1936 in Manhattan and grew up in Buffalo, New York. She graduated from the Buffalo

on Marilyn Drive where Kay and Mike were raised In 1986, they purchased a beachfront townhome in Destin, FL which they enjoyed with family and friends. Adele embracedlifeand enjoyedsharing her organizational talents with many local groups. Most notably she servedas: President of T.A.L.L (Tennis Association of Lafayette Ladies), Chairman of the Cityof Lafayette TennisAdvisory Committee,Vice-President of the Louisiana Tennis Association, President of the Lafayette High School Parent-TeacherClub, President of the Lafayette Geological Auxiliary, Chairman of the Southern Open Girls 12 &14Tennis Championships, and Boardmember and Lifemember of the Acadiana Symphony Women's League.For several years, she wrote the Tennis Column for the Times of Acadiana. Adele also captained several Lafayette Ladies Tennis League teams and was the United States Tennis Association League Local Women's Coordinator at its inception. In 1992, tennis great, Arthur Ashe, presented Adele with the Louisiana Tennis Association Outstanding

Adele embraced life and enjoyed sharing her organizational talents with many local groups. Most notably she served as: President of T.A.L.L. (Tennis Associationof Lafayette Ladies), Chairman of the Cityof Lafayette Tennis Advisory Committee, Vice-President of the Louisiana Tennis Association, President of the Lafayette High School Parent-Teacher Club, President of the Lafayette Geological Auxiliary, Chairman of the Southern Open Girls 12 &14Tennis Championships, and Boardmember and Lifemember of the Acadiana Symphony Women's League. Forseveral years, she wrote the Tennis Column forthe Times of Acadiana. Adele also captained several LafayetteLadies Tennis League teams and was the United States Tennis Association League Local Women's Coordinator at its inception. In 1992, tennis great, Arthur Ashe, presented Adelewith the Louisiana Tennis Association Outstanding Service Award. She is a named donor at the Hilliard Art Museum of UL and was alongtime member of the Friends of the Humanities. As adedicated and long-serving Regional Vice-President of the Cornell Class of '57, she traveled theEast Coast attending annual reunion planning meetings. Adele treasured attending many of both her and Burt's quinquennial Cornell Class reunions on campus in haca, NewYork, culminating with her 60th in 2017.

Adele built alife filled with wisdom and generosity, always making sure her loved ones knew they were cherished.Whether through phone calls, cards, texts, voice memos, or joyous visitsfor birthdays, graduations, and most recently the June 2024 wedding of Nick and Dominique in Temecula, CA, she remained aguiding force and constant source of sup Ad found new joyand community when she moved to The Blakein Lafayettein2022, forming meaningful friendships and days filled with laughter, conversation, activities, field trips, yoga, exercise classes, Bible study, walking club,games, live music, and dancing. Her closest friend,George Howell, shared her passion forclassical music, religion, philosophy, politics, and sports.

AService of Christian Burial will be held at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 10AM Rev. Michael J. Bordelon will officiate. Visitation will be observed at St. Barnabas from 9AM and will continue until time of services. Graveside services will be held in private following theservice.

When you need the news. Wherever you read the news.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Adele Smart's name to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 400 Camellia Boulevard, Lafayette, LA 70503 or Acadiana Symphony, 412 Travis Street, Lafayette, LA 70503. View the obituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com

Adele found new joyand community when she moved to The Blakein Lafayettein2022, forming meaningful friendships and days filled with laughter, conversation, activities, field trips, yoga, exercise classes, Bible study, walking club,games, live music, and dancing. Her closest friend,George Howell, shared her passion forclassical music, religion, philosophy, politics, and sports.

Martin &Castille Funeral HomeDOWNTOWN, 330 St. Landry Street, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506, (337) 2342311.

AService of Christian Burial will be held at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 10AM. Rev. Michael J. Bordelon will officiate. Visitationwill be observed at St. Barnabas from 9AMand will continue until timeof services. Gravesideservices will be held in private following tions be madeinAdele Smart's Barnabas Church, Boulevard, 70503 Symphony, Street, Lafayette, LA 70503. theobituary and guestbook www.mourning.co Martin &Castille Funeral DOWNTOWN St. Land Street, e, Louisiana 2342311.

Dugal,

The newspaper of record for Acadiana

For a week now, New Orleans has been entertaining media moguls and tech titans, superstars of sports, music and ﬁlm and superfans from Kansas City, Philadelphia and beyond. Today, our city and our state welcome the world.

A staggering 120 million people are expected to watch the Chiefs take on the Eagles, and when they tune in to Super Bowl LIX, they’ll see more than a game. They’ll see us, our city and our state and our modern wonder-turnedgrande dame of a domed stadium, all spiffed up for the big day but also still bearing marks of an extraordinary history and culture.

OPINION

We welcome the world home to the Dome Panama Canal crucial to U.S.

We wish we could cook all those virtual visitors a big pot of jambalaya to make them feel welcome. Hopefully, folks looked up recipes and tried them out wherever they are, and the food tastes as much like home to them as it does to us. But hosting the game the record-tying 11th in the city, and the record-breaking eighth at a single stadium — does allow us to show off our unmatched musical pedigree. Kendrick Lamar may be holding down halftime, but don’t miss Jon Batiste performing the national anthem, Trombone Shorty accompanying Lauren Daigle on “America the Beautiful” or the chorus of Orleans Parish students backing up Ledisi on “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before the game. More than that, it gives us a platform to tell our story, one in which the Caesars Superdome, as much as it resembles a giant spaceship parked on Poydras Street is a key even intimate, setting.

The Dome has been an iconic venue ever since it ﬁrst opened its doors 50 years ago this August. It’s hosted a national political convention and multiple national collegiate championships in football and basketball. Muhammad Ali fought Leon Spinks there. The Rolling Stones and U2 played there. Beyoncé commanded its stage, as did Taylor Swift, who will be back today as the most recognizable plusone in the place.

But it’s also a familiar neighbor to people who call this region home. They walk there from work, or from the French Quarter They catch beads from Endymion, Carnival’s biggest parade, inside. On Sundays during football season, they put on their black and gold and greet the people they’ve sat near year in and year out. Other cities have built new stadiums and then torn them down and built even newer ones during its lifespan. That’s not how we do things around here.

Its story is inextricably linked not just to celebration but to tragedy, never more than when thousands of New Orleanians sought shelter from Hurricane Katrina there, only to watch that giant roof ripped off and end up stranded for days in horriﬁc conditions.

But even more, its story is one of healing, of not ignoring terrible times but moving beyond them and ﬁnding hope again.

That happened when the Dome hosted the ﬁrst Super Bowl after our country was attacked on 9/11, and the world came together to watch Tom Brady launch a dynasty. And boy did it happen when, after a heroic effort to rebuild the stadium just a year after Katrina, Steve Gleason blocked that Atlanta Falcons punt on “Monday Night Football,” and suddenly, things felt like they just might be OK again. These and so many other communal memories have brought people together in good times and challenging ones — not just those in the stadium but the folks watching from down the street and across the globe.

Today, we can’t wait to make some more.

Teddy Roosevelt would presumably be pleased.

President Donald Trump spoke loudly and swung a big stick in Panama’s direction, and it produced instantaneous results when Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the small Central American nation.

President José Raúl Mulino

around in our hemisphere in a way we haven’t seen from a U.S. president in 100 years or so, is opening up doors.

Quintero said that Panama won’t renew its participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s global inﬂuence operation, and may terminate the relationship early

He said Panama will review its arrangement with a Hong Kong-based company to operate ports on either end of the canal. And he reportedly offered U.S. naval ships an exemption from Canal transit fees.

Mulino also threw in a concession regarding the repatriation of migrants using the Darien Gap, the jungle straddling Panama and Colombia, on their way to our southern border

Not bad for a day’s work. At this early juncture, Marco Rubio has the easiest job in the world. Fear of his boss, who is determined to throw his weight

The Panamanian political leadership presumably hasn’t been sleeping so well the past several weeks. After the election, Trump began banging the drum about Panama’s mismanagement of the Canal. Then, in a truly extraordinary line in his inaugural address that didn’t get much attention given the rush of other events, he pledged to take it back.

Panama had signed up to the Belt and Road Initiative in 2017, right around the time it dumped diplomatic relations with Taiwan to please China, and Beijing’s presence increased accordingly

If not a violation of the letter of the Panama Canal treaties, the Chinese operations certainly run counter to their spirit. The Panama Canal treaty handed control of the Canal to Panama, while the Neutrality Treaty guaranteed its permanent neutrality and stipulated that the U.S. could use force to address threats to that neutrality

The canal, all 51 miles of it, is among

the most crucial waterways in the world; it is of incalculable commercial and strategic importance to the United States. The reduced time and distance are a major economic boon; the Council on Foreign Relations notes that about 40% of U.S. container trafﬁc goes through the canal every year TR, who was also quite comfortable with high-handed international dealings, would presumably appreciate Trump’s sensitivity about the canal. We built the canal, one of the engineering marvels of the day, after helping Panama achieve independence from Colombia. We never should have given away such an invaluable national asset, but U.S. policymakers in the 1960s and 1970s bowed to Panamanian discontent over a foreign country controlling the Canal Zone.

Now, Trump is channeling that longago sentiment. To paraphrase the slogan of the treaty opponents, Trump thinks, “We bought it, we paid for it, we never should have relinquished it — and we’re watching it like a hawk.” Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry

Unique culture, politics define Louisiana

Our state has always had a culture distinct from our neighbors in the South. Sometimes, though, it’s easy to forget that when you live here. But when visitors come to town, as they have this week for Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome, it reminds you all of a sudden of how different we are. In the events leading up to the big game, we showcased the best Louisiana has to offer — from food and music to arts and culture. I was proud, as I am sure many of you were, to see some of our local legends get to share the national spotlight Our state also produced some pretty colorful politics once upon a time. In a state where there were so many competing constituencies and interests, politicians had to have strong personalities to bring everyone to the table. And even today many of our most effective leaders know how to weave a narrative that can attract people from all parts of the state despite

their diverse backgrounds. That part of Louisiana’s story is probably most relevant to the times we live in now We look to leaders who can help unite us and put us on a path to the future. What should that future look like in Louisiana? We have heard from some of you in response to our ﬁrst Town Square question of the year: If you could make a New Year’s resolution for the state of Louisiana, what would it be? The issue could be large or small, and it doesn’t have to involve politics, though many of the responses we get do. Send your answers to letters@theadvocate.com. As usual, we will publish a selection of the best responses. If yours isn’t selected, it will be considered for publication as a letter to the editor

Turning to our letters inbox, for the week of Jan. 16-23, we received 50 letters. Outside of national politics, which was the subject of nine letters, the big-

gest topic on your minds was the recent snow, not surprisingly We got six letters about the snow, some including pictures. Some of you also sent thanks that once our home delivery resumed, you received papers that were unable to be delivered during the storm. We also received three letters on President Donald Trump’s pardons of those who were convicted of criminal activity at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. All opposed the pardons. And there were also three letters on Gov Jeff Landry’s decision to ﬂy a MAGA ﬂag at the Governor’s Mansion on Inauguration Day All of the letters we received disagreed with the decision. We look forward to hearing your opinions on the Super Bowl festivities and the security measures taken. We know the eyes of the world are on New Orleans, but we place a priority on what you think.

Arnessa Garrett is Deputy Editor | Opinion Page Editor. Email her at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com.

Arnessa Garrett

Rich Lowry

COMMENTARY

Satchmo, Bechet made jazz emerge triumphant

To all you wonderful Super Bowl visitors, a word to the wise:

If you leave this city with memories only of football and booze, without a fuller appreciation of the unique culture of New Orleans, you will have massively shortchanged yourself.

You also will miss understanding how this city’s music mirrors one of this country’s greatest character traits.

New Orleans hosts this Super Bowl during the winter marking the 100th anniversary of two recordings, both featuring the same jazz musicians from Louisiana, that arguably changed the entire trajectory of American music.

Music historians may quibble whether these two recordings deserve primacy, in terms of cultural impact, over dozens of others made at the same time but almost none will disagree about the musical signiﬁcance of the two key, virtuoso performances in each song.

Go ahead: Do a web search now for the Clarence Williams versions of “Mandy Make Up Your Mind” and of “Cake Walking Babies from Home.” Listen as you

read this. The virtuosos from the Crescent City, usually acclaimed as the two greatest wind-instrument performers of New Orleans traditional jazz, were the young cornetist Louis Armstrong, just coming into his full bloom, and the soprano-saxophonist Sidney Bechet, four years Armstrong’s senior. They were brought together by band leader/ pianist Clarence Williams of Plaquemine, Louisiana, and joined by New Orleanian banjoist Buddy Christian and two others. Only in this short series of recordings in the winter of 202425 did Armstrong and Bechet record together before Bechet moved to Paris to ﬁnd greater fame (while facing less racism). What resulted, especially in “Mandy” and “Cake Walking Babies” the ﬁrst on Dec. 17, 2024, and the latter three weeks later — was sheer magic. In the second half of “Mandy,” Bechet brought out a rare instrument called a sarrusophone “to snort and bark his way through the ensemble,” as Armstrong historian Ricky Riccardi wrote. And in “Cake Walking Babies,”

the two musicians seem to vie for supremacy, trying to outshine each other even as their instruments complemented one another, in what Riccardi likened to a heavyweight prize ﬁght and another reviewer (name unknown) described as “a cutting contest between the dueling Satch and Bechet.”

Most remarkable, and what was in some ways the essential facet of traditional New Orleans jazz, was that amid the dueling lead performers, the group never lost its character as an ensemble performance involving individual and collective improvisation around a still-recognizable melody The tune remained intact, but each musician experimented at the margins with his individual part.

The result was an invigorating revelation to millions of listeners.

Just as these recordings were being made, three culturally revolutionary developments were fully conjoining for the ﬁrst time. First, the music itself: What became known as “jazz” had been around by then for some 20 years, growing in New Orleans from its roots in ragtime, blues and other inﬂuences but it still had been somewhat of a

“niche” sound, vying with marching tunes, chamber music and popular ballads. Likewise, sound recording was half a century old and commercially available for two decades, but still essentially a novelty Finally, radio broadcasts technically were available by the ﬁrst decade of the 20th century, but not widely Suddenly, circa 1924 or 1925, all three came together for mass audiences. Jazz had become the popular rage in New York and Chicago music venues by the mid-1920s; the loss of patent protection made phonographs far more widely available in the exact same time frame; and improvements in broadcast capabilities resulted in an explosion from just ﬁve radio stations in the whole country in 1921 to 571 by 1925. Into this mix, with fortuitous timing, came the extraordinary combination of the talents of Armstrong and Bechet, backed by mostly Louisianan compatriots. That’s how, 100 years ago this winter, New Orleans jazz became the predominant sound in living rooms across America. Gone was the idea of music as being tightly controlled and centrally directed Here was something more free to

innovation, yet still innately collaborative.

And why should American music be anything else? This was music that was part of the American character It was the sonic version of Americans’ embrace in the civic realm, so amply described by French observer Alexis de Tocqueville, of voluntary associations — not any centrally directed, command-and-control government — to ﬁll social and communal needs. What de Tocqueville described was, indeed, collective and experimental improvisation amid collaborative goals. The jazz of “Mandy” and “Cake Walking Babies” that played from phonographs and on airwaves 100 years ago this month was a perfect encapsulation, and musical expression, of American culture.

So, visitors, don’t leave New Orleans this week without listening to some traditional jazz. And whether your team wins or loses, take home an appreciation of jazz’s joys.

Quin Hillyer is a columnist and editorial writer for The TimesPicayune | The Advocate. He can be reached at quin.hillyer@ TheAdvocate.com

Let the show trials begin with abortion laws

Not long after the U.S. Supreme Court stripped away the half-century-old right to abortion and Louisiana swiftly followed up by passing extreme laws to nearly ban the procedure, I asked a New Orleans area OB-GYN I know how things were going

This doctor said they were mostly calm in major medical centers, where procedures to procure second opinions for miscarriages and problem pregnancies were in place, but more problematic in rural areas with fewer specialists and less legal support — and then sighed and ended our conversation with this: “We’re just waiting for the show trials to start.”

Well, it looks like the wait is over Attorney General Liz Murrill and West Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Tony Clayton are making a great big show of pursuing charges against New York doctor Margaret Carpenter, who mailed mifepristone tablets used to induce medical abortion to a mother of a minor in Louisiana. The teenager’s mom is charged under a separate law against coercion of an abortion. Due to privacy protections, we don’t know all the details other than that the girl took the pills the mother had procured — allegedly under pressure and wound up in the emergency room, which is certainly a horrible situation.

Murrill, a Republican, and Clayton, a Democrat who is aligned with her and her onetime boss, Gov Jeff Landry, aren’t just prosecuting a pair of cases. They’re clearly looking to make an example of this family and this physician, with the apparent aim of putting an even further chill on women’s options during extremely difﬁcult and one would hope — private situations. Speaking to radio host Jim Engster last month, Clayton called the case “groundbreaking.”

And on social media, Murrill puffed her chest at those who are saying they’ve gone too far Here’s how she responded to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who’d written that “We will not allow people to weaponize the law and undermine our providers’ ability to deliver critical care” — and who, not coincidentally, is otherwise best known nationally for securing a civil fraud decision against Donald Trump.

“Respectfully, @NewYorkStateAG, I don’t think you should be the one to talk about ‘weaponizing the law.’ Since when is a coerced abortion health care? It’s a crime to force an abortion and conspiring with another to do so makes them a principal.”

That, of course, is for the courts to address.

Carpenter is charged under a state law that prohibits the shipment of abortion-inducing drugs that are both legal and commonly used elsewhere than Louisiana.

And New York has passed a safe haven law for prescribers and vows not to allow extradition.

So lots of legal ﬁghting is coming, and I’ll leave that to the lawyers to parse.

But Murrill and Clayton aren’t leaving it to their own lawyers, as they would if they looked at this as only a case of alleged lawbreaking. Instead, they’re exploiting a family trag-

edy to make a point and to intimidate both doctors and Louisiana women who already have to jump through hoops to control their own reproductive health, a burden that falls disproportionately on those with fewer means.

But then, that’s kind of becoming an MO around here.

It’s all reminiscent of a law the Louisiana Legislature passed last year that reclassiﬁed two drugs used to induce abortion as controlled dangerous substances, making them harder to access even in emergencies where they’re used to stop excessive bleeding and essentially hijacking a classiﬁcation meant to control access to highly addictive drugs, which these are not.

This happened after another tragedy, the attempt in Texas by the former brotherin-law of a Louisiana lawmaker to slip his sister abortion-inducing pills without her knowledge. That’s a terrible thing but it’s an individual act that is covered by existing law, not an excuse to make overall access more difﬁcult.

Murrill staunchly defends that law and claims those who raise concerns are playing politics.

Gee, it would sure be a shame if anyone did that with such a sensitive issue, wouldn’t it?

Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace@ theadvocate.com.

NFL puts an end to ‘racism,’ focuses on DEI

The National Football League makes news everywhere it goes, especially during NFL Super Bowl Week. In New Orleans, with the biggest Big Game of the football season featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, the league has weighed in on diversity, equity and inclusion, ticking off and upsetting some, satisfying others and leaving still others wondering where the league stands. In recent days, the league made news by ending a relatively new, pro-diversity tradition and staying committed to its overarching diversity philosophy

In summary, the league decided to do away with an anti-racism message, but its actual business practices will stay focused on diversity

The NFL is a premiere professional business and sports organization. It’s hard to argue with its success. With its 32 professional football franchises, including the New Orleans Saints, league revenues in 2023 were more than $20.24 billion. It’s a business with lots of eyeballs.

Most of the top television broadcasts each year are NFL football games. It has taken the NFL decades to build an audience of more than 100 million viewers for the annual Super Bowl, a business with a predominantly Black on-the-ﬁeld workforce. Thousands arrived for The Big Game. They came to see the best of the best compete. Regardless of race, color or creed — or I would like to think so.

George Floyd was murdered while in the custody of Minneapolis police ofﬁcers in late May 2020 after complaining that he couldn’t breathe, crying for his mother while complaining that he was hurting. The incident was videotaped. Floyd, a Black man, was handcuffed, beaten and allowed to die.

Millions of citizens saw what happened, and they knew it was wrong. Corporate citizens like the NFL knew it was wrong. Like so many individual citizens and corporate citizens, the NFL spoke up, said what happened was wrong and did something about it. The league ramped up

its 2018 “Inspire Change” initiative, providing leadership with action and words. With a few choice words, the league made it clear where it stood on accepting and appreciating differences, treating others with fairness and strongly suggesting speciﬁc actions that could be taken by all who enjoyed the sport.

“Vote.” “Stop Hate.” “It Takes All of Us.” “Choose Love.” “End Racism.”

It was more than a game. It was a movement. A movement with unifying messages.

Then things started to change. Some grew tired of hearing about and talking about injustices, unfairness and racism. They knew these things were real. They simply didn’t want to deal with them.

As President Donald Trump puts his anti-diversity, anti-DEI stamp on the federal government and pushes businesses everywhere to do the same, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is standing ﬁrm as it continues to do the right thing when it comes to diversity Some Black and more progressive folks were disappointed that the league

chose not to display an “End Racism” stencil in the game’s end zone. Some White and more conservative fans cheered the move, though the diversity commitment gave them heartburn. The idea of ending racism should be something that uniﬁes. But it isn’t. It’s obvious that some people don’t want such messages because they think it’s cool to be racist — whether they want to admit it or not. In recent days, some are boycotting major brands that have backed off of DEI efforts. Costco has not. Now some are ﬂocking to purchase memberships at a store that hasn’t had their business.

Goodell is the league leader, but he reports to 32 bosses, the owners of the professional football franchises. The mostly White, male owners make a lot of money with mostly conservative business practices.

Though several contributed to Trump and conservative political causes, they don’t want to see their business collapse by losing large parts of their fan base According to a 2023 survey, 37% of Whites, 42% of Blacks and 45% of Hispanics said they are avid

NFL football fans. And at 35%, Black casual fan numbers were higher than White or Hispanic fans. It’s hard to believe sometimes, but pursuing diversity, equity and inclusion is a new idea. For centuries, Black people were enslaved as a part of a legal business and government system that supported forced labor as a part of making big proﬁts. We moved into Reconstruction with some hope. The civil rights era yielded some gains. Some laws and systems were changed and updated to acknowledge how unfair our nation has been to so many I’m only one fan, and I’ve made my choice. Though I’ll miss seeing the “End Racism” language on the ﬁeld, I’ll be watching the Super Bowl game, halftime show and commercials, pleased that the NFL is sticking to its commitment to improve the league, the sport and our world when it comes to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion — no matter what it’s called.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill

Quin Hillyer

Stephanie Grace Will Sutton

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES VS. KANSAS CITy CHIEFS • 5:30 P.M. SUNDAy • FOX

Eagles say loss to Kansas City

2 years ago

‘lit a flame’

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Patrick Mahomes quickly can point to the toughest loss in his career

“The Super Bowl vs. Tampa,” the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback said. “Pretty easy.”

The Philadelphia Eagles know the feeling.

Two years ago, the Eagles came up just short in Super Bowl LVII at the hands of Mahomes, no less. Now on Sunday, when the two teams meet in a rematch at the Caesars Superdome, Philadelphia will have a chance to get even in Super Bowl LIX.

The Eagles have embraced the fact, even though coach Nick Sirianni tried to downplay the storyline by noting they’re two different teams from the ﬁrst meeting. But the 2023 game a 38-35 defeat still resonates for many of the 20 players still on Philadelphia’s roster from the ﬁrst meeting.

“It lit a ﬂame, lit a ﬁre in me,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “To have this opportunity again is exactly what you work for.” Hurts did almost everything a team could ask against the Chiefs in

Here are 26 things to watch for in the big game

Laissez les bon temps rouler Let the good times roll. The wait is over Super Bowl LIX is here.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will kick off at 5:30 p.m. Sunday in the Caesars Superdome. Here’s your A-to-Z guide to everything you need to know ahead of the game.

Anthem. This is when it seems the Super Bowl ofﬁcially begins. Whitney Houston set the standard in 1991. My second-favorite rendition was by Chris Stapleton two years ago when the Eagles and Chiefs played Sunday, it’ll be…

Rod Walker

B atiste. That’s Jon Batiste, who gets to start the party off with his version of the anthem in his beloved hometown.

hiefs Kingdom and the Bird Gang, two of the most passionate fan bases in the NFL. Chiefs fans set the record for loudest stadium in 2014 when they hit 142.2 decibels at Arrowhead Stadium. Eagles fans once booed Santa Claus.

eVonta Smith. The Amite City native and 2020 Heisman Trophy winner gets to play just an hour from his hometown.

Eleven. That’s how many times the Super Bowl has been held in New Orleans, tied with Miami for most ever It took 12 years for it to get back to New Orleans. Here’s hoping it doesn’t take that long to return.

ive ﬁrst-team All-Pro players are on the rosters. For the Eagles: RB Saquon Barkley and LB Zack Baun. For the Chiefs: G Joe Thuney, C Creed Humphrey and DT Chris Jones.

G.O.A.T conversation. That’s what Patrick Mahomes will be entering if he can win what would be his fourth Super Bowl

History in the making. Well, it will be if the Chiefs win. They’d become the ﬁrst team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

When he takes the ﬁeld at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday evening, the man who already exists in extremely rare air will have the opportunity to do something nobody else has ever done.

A win would be Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ third consecutive Super Bowl championship, an NFL ﬁrst It would also be, for him, four Super Bowl titles in seven years as a starting quarterback, which would make him the fastest to ever reach four rings. The Chiefs with Mahomes have fallen short only three times — once in the Super Bowl, twice in the conference title game.

“It’s still surreal to me to be playing in the Super Bowl again, but that’s what you want to do,” Mahomes said. “You want to go out there and be mentioned with the greats. More than anything, I want this team to be remembered for being one of the greatest teams.”

The greats have enjoyed legacydeﬁning games in the building where Mahomes will seek his latest ring.

LSU’s Gilbert looks to snap shooting slump ahead of rematch vs. Tennessee, Page 2C

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts

Eagles LB Zack Baun

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

Chiefs G Joe Thuney

MEN’S TOP 25

No. 6 Florida takes down

No. 1 Auburn

By The Associated Press

AUBURN, Ala. Walter Clayton

scored 19 points and Alex Condon added 17 as No. 6 Florida rallied from an early deﬁcit and beat No. 1 Auburn 90-81 Saturday, ending the Tigers’ 14-game winning streak.

Florida (20-3, 7-3 Southeastern Conference), down by 10 points early, built a 10-point advantage by the end of the ﬁrst half and held off Auburn (21-2, 9-1) in the second half for its second victory over a top-ranked team this season.

Florida beat then-No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7.

The Gators shot 13 for 33 from 3-point range, while Auburn shot 32% from long distance, ﬁnishing 7 for 22. Leading scorer Johni Broome had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Auburn.

No. 4 TENNESSEE 70, OKLAHOMA 52:

In Norman, Oklahoma, Chaz Lanier scored 21 points, Zakai Zeigler added 17 and the Vols beat the Sooners in the teams’ ﬁrst meeting in 56 years Tennessee (20-4, 7-4 SEC) took control early, hitting 14 of its first 16 shots, including going 5 for 5 from 3-point range. The Vols, who shot 60% for the game, led by 20 points at halftime and 28 with 5:28 left.

No. 5 HOUSTON 69, COLORADO 59: In Boulder, Colorado, J’Wan Roberts scored 20 points, Terrance Arceneaux added 13 of his 15 points in the second half and the Cougars handed the Buffaloes their 12th straight loss.

L.J. Cryer finished with 15 points for Houston (19-4, 11-1 Big 12). He appeared to be shaken up late in the game.

No. 8 IOWA STATE 82, TCU 52: In Ames, Iowa, Curtis Jones scored 24 points and Milan Momcilovic returned from injury to add 14 as the Hawkeyes ended a threegame losing streak.

Dishon Jackson also scored 14 points, and Joshua Jefferson had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

No. 9 MICHIGAN STATE 86, OREGON 74: In East Lansing, Michigan, Jase Richardson scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the second half, lifting the Spartans to a comeback win.

Spartans coach Tom Izzo tied Bob Knight’s Big Ten record for wins with No. 353 The Spartans (19-5, 10-2) trailed by 14 points at halftime and took over the game early in the second half with Richardson leading the way No. 10 TEXAS A&M 67, No. 15 MISSOURI 64: In Columbia, Wade Taylor made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to lift the Aggies. Pharrel Payne scored 20 points, Taylor added 15 and Henry Coleman grabbed a careerbest 16 rebounds for the Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3 SEC).

Tamar Bates led Missouri with 16 points, Mark Mitchell added 14 and Tamar Bates scored 12 for Missouri (18-5, 6-4) which lost at home for the first time this season.

No. 14 KENTUCKY 80, SOUTH CAROLINA 57: In Lexington, Kentucky, Otega Oweh scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and the Wildcats snapped a two-game skid.

Brandon Garrison came off the bench and scored 15 points for Kentucky (16-7, 5-5 SEC), which won at home after losses to No. 4 Alabama (Jan. 18) and Arkansas (Feb. 1).

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Jan. 9 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Trying to figure it out

LSU’s Gilbert, whose last-second game-winner took down Tenn. in Knoxville, will try shake off long shooting slump in Sunday’s rematch

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The last time the LSU women faced Tennessee, coach Kim Mulkey wanted to put the last possession in the hands of Kailyn Gilbert.

You remember what happened next.

Gilbert crossed over her defender, drove right, took two long strides through the lane and tossed a left-handed hook shot through the rim, ending a fast-paced, high-scoring game and giving the Tigers an impressive road win. First-year Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell said she wanted to send a double team. The problem then was that the LSU transfer guard moved too quicky

The problem now? Gilbert has fallen into a shooting slump, one that deprived her scoring touch through the month of games sandwiched between No. 6 LSU’s two battles against No. 19 Tennessee.

The rematch will tip off in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 3 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.

“Well, she played 17 minutes,” Mulkey said Thursday after LSU defeated Missouri 71-60, “so she’s got to figure that out herself. If I weren’t playing her, then I would say she needs more minutes, but if you get 17 minutes, figure out how to score the ball Figure out how to help us. I can’t just flash a wand and say, ‘OK, you’re going hit these next three.’”

At the start of Southeastern Conference play, Gilbert didn’t need any extra magic. The Arizona transfer was conjuring up plenty herself.

In LSU’s first three games, she averaged 18.3 points per game, converted 62% of her field goals and ended the Tigers’ first matchup with Tennessee, breaking a

ä The Ole Miss-LSU men’s basketball game ended after deadline.

tie in the ﬁnal second of regulation with her tough, driving hook shot. That night, Gilbert scored 22 points — nearly as many as she’s totaled over the seven games LSU has played since.

The junior has missed 45 of the past 53 shots she’s taken, and she’s averaging only 3.6 points since the Tigers left Knoxville, Tennessee, on Jan. 9.

Gilbert’s slump has diminished the LSU bench’s scoring punch, which in turn has forced Flau’jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams to shoulder a larger share of the offensive responsibilities. That trio has proven capable of carrying the Tigers through tough games, but it could use a greater scoring lift from the LSU reserves than what they’ve provided lately — only about 11 points per game. That’s about as many points as their predecessors chipped in each game last season.

The LSU bench did score 21 points against Missouri on Thursday Reserve guard Mjracle Sheppard accounted for 11 of those points, and the Tigers won the 28 minutes she played her seasonhigh — by 17 points.

Gilbert, however, finished scoreless after misfiring on all five of her field-goal tries.

“That’s what happens when you play this game,” Mulkey said. “This game can humble you. This game can make you look like a hero. But what you have to do is, you just have to say, ‘I’m going to stay even keeled and keep doing what I’ve been doing and keep shooting it.’ I’ve never told her not to shoot the ball. She’ll make

Former Bears coach

Jauron dies at age 74

Longtime NFL player and coach

Dick Jauron, who led the Chicago Bears to the playoffs and was voted AP coach of the year in 2001, died Saturday He was 74.

The Bears conﬁrmed his death, which came one day before Philadelphia where Jauron briefly served as an assistant to current Chiefs coach Andy Reid — played Kansas City in the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Jauron was a two-sport star at Yale in the early 1970s, and he was drafted by both the Detroit Lions in the NFL draft and the St. Louis Cardinals in the Major League Baseball amateur draft. He ultimately made football his lifelong pursuit, beginning with ﬁve seasons as a defensive back in Detroit and three more with Cincinnati before his retirement in 1980.

LSU’s Tejedo gets invite to Augusta women’s amateur

LSU freshman golfer Rocio Tejedo received an invitation to compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, April 2-5. This will be the second straight appearance in Augusta for the Spanish golfer, who is ranked No. 37 in the world.

As of last week, 65 golfers had accepted invitations to the event, which is played the week before the Masters.

The first two rounds will be contested at Champions Retreat Golf Club, with the field cut to the low 30 and ties for the final round at Augusta National after a full field practice day there.

Tejedo has four top-five finishes in her first five LSU starts, including a second-place finish Tuesday in the Puerto Rico Classic.

Boxer Cooney dies week after title defeat in Belfast BELFAST, Northern Ireland Irish boxer John Cooney died a week after being taken into intensive care following his Celtic super-featherweight title defeat to Nathan Howells in Belfast. The death of the 28-year-old Cooney was announced on Saturday in a statement published by his promoter Mark Dunlop on behalf of the Cooney family and his ﬁancee Emmaleen.

Cooney’s ﬁght with Howells was stopped in the ninth round at Ulster Hall.

Cooney subsequently underwent surgery after it was discovered he had an intracranial hemorrhage. The bout with Welsh boxer Howells was Cooney’s ﬁrst defense of the Celtic super-featherweight title.

big shots for you.”

One big shot was a game-winning layup against Washington. Another helped LSU send its Dec. 5 win over Stanford into overtime. Then came Gilbert’s strong start to 2025 and the hook she ﬂipped up and in to beat Tennessee which once looked like it would put the transfer guard on track to enjoy a career year She still can — despite the shooting rut. Gilbert’s per-40-minute scoring average (19.7) is about the same as it was at the end of her ﬁrst two seasons at Arizona, though her 3-point shooting percentage has dipped from 40% to 33%.

But Gilbert must ﬁrst rediscover her scoring touch and help the LSU reserves affect more games, starting Sunday Tennessee has the second-best scoring offense in the country

The Lady Vols both take (32.9) and make (10.9) more 3-pointers per contest than any Division I team in the nation. On Thursday, they scored 80 points on 46% shooting in an upset win over No. 5 UConn, which has one of the 10 best scoring defenses in the country That night, against Missouri, the LSU reserves eclipsed 20 points for the ﬁrst time since the Tigers’ road win over Tennessee. They’ll likely need a similar bench output to keep pace with the Lady Vols in the rematch on Sunday

And that effort, of course, starts with Gilbert.

“I’ve challenged them lately that everybody knows about the three main ones,” Mulkey said Thursday, “but we have other good players, and I need more production from people who come in off the bench.

“Just give us something. And I thought they did tonight.”

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

U.S. skier Johnson claims women’s downhill title

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — American skier Breezy Johnson won gold in the women’s downhill at the Alpine skiing world championships on Saturday Johnson finished 0.15 seconds ahead of silver medalist Mirjam Puchner of Austria. Czech skier Ester Ledecka came 0.21 behind in third to take bronze. Lindsey Vonn trailed her American teammate Johnson by 1.96 seconds in 15th.

It’s Johnson first medal from a major event and came two months after she returned from a 14-month ban for three violations of anti-doping rules.

“I was psyched because I knew that I had skied my best,” the 29-year-old Johnson said. “I’m just going to enjoy this because I’ve had a lot of times where I gave my best and I didn’t win.”

Detry shoots 65 to take 5-shot lead in Phoenix SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Thomas Detry shot a 6-under 65 on Saturday to take a five-shot lead into the final round of the Phoenix Open as he chases his first PGA Tour victory

Detry had a two-shot lead to start the round after a 64 on Friday and kept rolling with four birdies over his ﬁrst ﬁve holes Saturday in ideal conditions at TPC Scottsdale.

The two-time Belgian Olympian made a 19-foot par putt on the par4 18th to ﬁnish at 18-under 195 on the Stadium Course. Jordan Spieth hunting his ﬁrst tour win since 2022 — was among four players tied for second. He had a bogey-free 67, scrambling for par on 18 after hitting into bunkers on his drive and again on his second shot.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK LSU guard Kailyn Gilbert takes the ball to the basket against Oklahoma guard Zya Vann on Jan. 30 in the PMAC. Gilbert has missed 45 of her last 53 shots, and she’s averaging only 3.6 points per game since her game-winning shot lifted the Tigers over Tennessee on

UL men find way to win close game

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

It wasn’t Sun Belt Conference play, but it didn’t matter

When you have seven wins on the season and have been losing nailbiters after nailbiter, it just felt good for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns to win a close game for a change with a 66-64 road win over Northern Illinois on Saturday in DeKalb, Illinois, in the Sun Belt-MAC Challenge.

The Cajuns are now 8-17 and the Huskies fell to 5-18. UL will return home to meet Troy on Wednesday in the Cajundome.

“It doesn’t matter if we’re shooting pennies or marbles, when you line up against competition, it’s time to compete,” UL coach Derrick Zimmerman said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a conference game or a nonconference game, we’ve got to go out and work.”

The Cajuns put together just enough scoring runs to claim the win.

NIU jumped out to a 20-9 lead, before the Cajuns responded with an 11-2 run to cut the Huskies’ lead to 22-20.

Things went south again for UL as NIU went on a run

to grab a 39-28 halftime lead.

“In the first half, I don’t know,” Zimmerman said. “We were sleepwalking, I don’t know

“Anybody who knows me knows I wasn’t going for that performance in the ﬁrst half ” Whatever Zimmerman said in his halftime speech worked. UL opened the second half with an 11-0 run to tie game at 39-all after a Chancellor White threepoint play with 16:22 left. White hit a 3-pointer to open the run 20 seconds into the second half.

Seven minutes later, the Cajuns added a 9-0 run behind a Brandon Hardy 3-pointer and two baskets by Mostapha El Moutaouakkil that built a 58-51 lead with 5:49 left. That run also ended a 30-12 run to open the second half.

The Cajuns never gave up the lead the rest of the way UL led for 10 minutes, 32 seconds, while the Huskies led for 27:06 Kentrell Garnett led UL with 12 points and three rebounds He was the Cajuns’ only double-ﬁgures scorer but UL had more balanced scoring than usual with eight players scoring six or more points.

“That’s part of a team,” Zimmerman said. “These guys have been working since the summer That’s why you have to have player development for guys to get better and keep getting better

“We just had to ﬁnd a way to grind it out and get a win and that’s what we did.”

Hardy was next with nine points and three rebounds, followed by El Moutaouakkil and Christian Wright with eight apiece. London Fields added seven points and three rebounds.

One key was UL’s 27-8 edge in bench scoring. The other area the Cajuns ﬂourished was points off turnovers 22-8. The Cajuns had 11 turnovers to 14 for Northern Illinois.

“We found some rhythm with some guys (off the bench). Those guys came out off the bench and played extremely well,” Zimmerman said.

The Cajuns limited NIU to 26.1% shooting in the second half, which the Cajuns make those critical runs.

Quaran McPherson led NIU with 19 points with six rebounds.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

Nets waive Simmons, who looks likely to join Clippers

BY BRIAN MAHONEY

to a buyout with the last remaining link to a failed era of building around All-Stars. The No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft was not with the Nets for their victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night as the sides worked on completing the deal.

Coach Jordi Fernandez praised Simmons before the game for working his way back from a series of injuries that caused such an ineffective time in Brooklyn

“I know that not playing for a season and then limited games another season and now fighting his way back, playing I think it was a little over 20 minutes or mid-20s,” said Fernandez, in his first season with the Nets. “So that’s pretty good. Really good to see that after going through a surgery now being back playing basketball.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NELL REDMOND

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons, right, drives past Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate on Jan. 29 in Charlotte, N.C.

But it’s far less than the Nets hoped when they acquired the three-time AllStar in a trade for James Harden at the 2022 trade deadline. He was unable to join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the court that season after hurting his back trying to work into shape after sitting out the ﬁrst half of that season in Philadelphia. The injury problems,

mostly due to lower back nerve damage, continued to limit Simmons. He made it through just half of the 202223 season, during which Durant and Irving were both traded, and played only 15 games last season. Simmons played in 33 of the Nets’ 52 games this season, starting 24, and averaged 6.2 points and 6.9 assists.

Cajuns softball falls to 0-2 after loss to No. 1 Texas

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The truth is the UL Ragin’ Cajuns probably were not quite ready for the No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns.

At least, coach Alyson Habetz’s club wasn’t Friday night, falling 8-0 in ﬁve innings in its second game of the Louisiana Classics in front of a sellout crowd of 2,511 fans at Lamson Park.

“Anytime you face adversity, you learn a lot about a team, especially two losses in a row,” Habetz said. “I think it’s really going to show what we’re made of. We’re going to have to dig a little deeper and come out tomorrow and play two games.”

UL will play Seton Hall again at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by George Mason at 7 p.m.

“Hopefully, we’ll respond the way that I think we will respond,” Habetz said. “That’ll show a lot for us moving forward.”

Much like Thursday’s opening loss to Seton Hall, UL starter Bethaney Noble had issues throwing strikes.

After a borderline 2-2 pitch didn’t go her way in the top of the ﬁrst with two outs, Noble walked the ﬁrst

of three batters. Reese Atwood followed with a tworun home run to left.

“That’s when you just have to chalk it up to, ‘Hey, it’s not going our way,’ ” Habetz said. In the second, Noble walked two of the ﬁrst three batters. Kayden Henry’s high pop-up to left could have been the second out, but Kayla Falterman’s diving attempt fell just short.

That was followed by Mia Scott’s two-run double and Leighann Goode’s two-run single to chase Noble.

UL’s pitchers have walked 12 batters in two games.

“I kind of think so (nerves), because in the scrimmage and in the fall, it’s almost like we threw too many strikes,” Habetz said.

“We were saying that. Now, I think you can’t replicate this environment.”

After reliever Sam Ryan retired the ﬁrst four batters she faced, Ashton Maloney’s leadoff single created more trouble in the fourth Henry followed with an RBI single, while a throwing error on the back half of a double-play attempt chased home the eighth run.

Ryan threw the final 3 2/3 innings for the Cajuns,

allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, one walk and no strikeouts.

“Sam came out here and threw strikes,” Habetz said.

“I think she did a fantastic job. You could tell she had experienced this before and the other ones had not.” The Cajuns didn’t have much more fun at the plate either, although it was a little more than UL enjoyed against Texas starter Teagan Kavan in Austin last season. In that game, Kavan tossed a two-hit shutout with no walks and six strikeouts on only 66 pitches. UL did walk twice, but the only base hit came on Dayzja Williams’ one-out single up the middle in the third.

“For Dayzja that was great, because she’s been really working on hitting it up the middle and controlling her barrel,” Habetz said.

“For this last week and a half, she’s been real intentional in batting practice.” Kavan got the win, going four innings. She allowed one hit, two walks and struck out ﬁve. She threw 63 pitches.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

UL women drop overtime heartbreaker to Miami-Ohio

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

It wasn’t a Sun Belt Conference game, but it’s never fun to lose the way the UL women’s basketball team did Saturday

Tamar Singer of MiamiOhio hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then the Cajuns missed two shots in the ﬁnal two seconds of the extra session to lose 60-59 in the Sun Belt-MAC Challenge on Saturday at the Cajundome.

The Cajuns dropped to 10-12 overall while MiamiOhio improved to 14-8. UL next will play Texas State at 5 p.m. Wednesday

in the Cajundome.

Poor shooting held the Cajuns down throughout the game, ﬁnishing at 31.1% from the field overall. It didn’t get any better down the stretch when UL made 5 of 19 attempts in the fourth quarter and overtime session combined.

Miami-Ohio shot 37.5% from the field and made 33.3% from 3-point land on 24 attempts. The Cajuns did most of their damage at the freethrow line, making 19 of 22 tries for 86.4% with visiting Miami-Ohio just 4 of 5 at the line.

The only Cajuns player to not shoot under 50% in the game was Jasmine Matthews, but she was only 1 for 2 in just two minutes of action after coming off an extended break with an injury Nubia Benedith led the Cajuns with 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting, followed by Erica Lafayette with 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting and seven boards. Skylah Travis posted eight points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes as a starter. Ashlyn Jones had eight points and five rebounds. Singer ﬁnished the game with 17 points and four rebounds for Miami-Ohio, while Enjullina Gonzalez added 11 points and eight rebounds.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL guard London Fields tries to get past a McNeese defender on Dec. 24. On Saturday against Northern Illinois, Fields helped a big scoring punch off the bench with seven points

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP UL shortstop Cecilia Vasquez, left, tags out Leighann Goode of Texas during

loss Friday night at Lamson Park.

EAGLES

Continued from page 1C

the previous bout The 2020 second-round pick completed 27 of 38 passes and threw for 304 yards which is the most Kansas City has allowed in four Super Bowl outings in the Mahomes era, including the Chiefs’ loss to Tampa Bay in 2021.

Hurts added another 70 yards on the ground with three rushing touchdowns. And he was able to overcome a second-quarter mistake when he fumbled the ball away for a 36-yard touchdown return. The Eagles led 27-21 entering the fourth quarter

But the Chiefs have become masters at winning close games, and the Eagles saw it ﬁrsthand two years ago.

nterceptions. You can almost guarantee that at least one pick will be thrown. There has been an interception in 23 of the last 24 Super Bowls. The only one that didn’t have one during that time? Chiefs vs. Eagles two years ago.

Jalen Hurts The Eagles quarterback seeks revenge after losing in the Super Bowl to these same Chiefs two years ago.

Q B coach The Eagles quarterbacks coach is Doug Nussmeier Yes, his son is LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier Many think Doug will be on Moore’s staff with the Saints.

Reid. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is going for his fourth Super Bowl victory. That would tie him with former Steelers coach Chuck Noll for second-most Super Bowl wins Only former Patriots coach Bill Belichick has more with six.

wift Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, music superstar Taylor Swift, returns to the Dome after selling it out for three nights in a row last October

endrick Lamar will perform at halftime. The reactions on social media will be like they are for every halftime show Half of the people will love it. Half will hate it

IX. I’m almost certain the only reason I had to learn Roman numerals in school was for Super Bowls. I’ve never used it for anything else This is Super Bowl LIX or 59.

oore. Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is expected to be the next Saints head coach If you’re a Saints fan, there is no storyline bigger than this one. You want to see the Eagles offense thrive. Moore is likely going to be announced as the new guy in charge in New Orleans within 24 hours after Sunday’s game ends.

N ot Like Us. It’s not often that an artist wins a Grammy for Song of the Year and Record of the Year one week and then gets to perform that song at halftime of a Super Bowl seven days later But that’s what Lamar will get to do when he performs “Not Like Us.”

ffensive Player of the Year Eagles RB Saquon Barkley won the honor Thursday night after rushing for 2,005 yards this season

residential appearance. For the ﬁrst

ush push At some point, the Eagles will be in a third-and-short situation and use the play that some people want to see go away

pset alert? The underdog has won three of the past four Super Bowls. The Eagles are 11/2-point underdogs.

illains. The Chiefs have won so much that they have all of a sudden turned into the villains of the NFL. Eagles defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson who spent his ﬁrst three NFL seasons with the Saints, has embraced his villain role, too. If he’s playing for your team, you love him. If he’s not, you probably don’t

hite jerseys. The Chiefs will wear white jerseys, which history says is a good thing The team wearing white jerseys has won 37 of the previous 58 Super Bowls. That trend is even more noticeable lately, with the team wearing white jerseys winning 16 of the last 20 Super Bowls.

avier Worthy Thanks to the mom of the Chiefs rookie receiver for naming her son Xavier This letter can be very difﬁcult.

ellow ﬂags. There will be a ﬂag thrown (or not thrown) and people will lose their minds. Saints fans, still angry about 2019, will have no sympathy

ack Baun. The former Saints linebacker, in his ﬁrst season with the Eagles, was a ﬁnalist for Defensive Player of the Year The NFL doesn’t give a Most Improved Award, but if it did, Baun would be a no-brainer

“One of the things that we talk a lot about is embracing adversity and how adversity shapes you as the person that you are,” Sirianni said “So all our setbacks, including the (Super Bowl LVII loss), we use to help shape who we are.

“It’s about embracing adversity and growing from not only the good things that happen but also the bad things that happen.”

Trying to embrace and overcome adversity can take a team only so far Just ask the San Francisco 49ers. Like the Eagles, San Francisco got a chance to try and redeem a Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs when the two sides met in last year’s Super Bowl But the results were barely any different: The 49ers still lost a close game, 25-22.

The Eagles, however, have reasons to believe the rematch will be different this time around. Star running back Saquon Barkley’s addition is the biggest difference from the meeting after the Eagles signed him to a three-year $37.5 million contract in free agency Barkley ﬁnished the 2024 regular season with 2,005 yards rushing, falling just 107 yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s all-time record.

The Philadelphia coaching staff and defense experienced signiﬁcant turnover While Sirianni retained his job after a disastrous end to the 2023 season the Eagles started 10-1 before losing six of the last seven — the Eagles hired offensive coordinator Kellen

CHIEFS

Continued from page 1C

This is where Joe Montana won his fourth and final ring, where Brett Favre won his first and only, where Tom Brady won his first of many

And yes, Brady will be in the building Sunday He is considered by many to be the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, because after he won that first Super Bowl in 2002, he went on to win six more. Those three seasons Mahomes didn’t win it all? Brady’s Patriots and Buccaneers knocked them out twice.

Brady is now a broadcaster for Fox, and he will serve as the color analyst for Sunday’s broadcast. He has been hearing the comparisons between himself and Mahomes, and he’s seen the suggestions that Mahomes’ mounting accomplishments are threatening his status at the top. Brady, on a conference call with reporters, said he doesn’t ascribe to that notion.

“Anything that Patrick does, to me, I don’t believe will ever detract from what I accomplished in my career,” Brady said. ”... We all have our own individual journeys, our own football careers and lives, and those are made up ultimately by what we do as individuals and how we are motivated every day to go out and achieve our team goals.”

Mahomes isn’t worrying himself over the comparisons. He said it is still “amazing” to be compared to the greatest players ever, but he doesn’t try to live up to the comparisons. Instead it is about ﬁnding the best version of himself.

“That’s what pushes me every day,” Mahomes said. “When I look back at my career, I’ll look back and think it’s even more amazing to be mentioned with some of these names I’ve been mentioned with, but more than anything I just want to maximize the opportunity that I have here.”

For someone who is globally famous, who is wealthy enough to buy stakes in professional sports teams, who is accomplished enough to be in the conversation for the Greatest Of All Time before his 30th birthday — Mahomes is a normal person. He hangs out in the locker room

Moore and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to oversee those units. On defense, the Eagles also retooled the secondary and beneﬁtted from a youth movement. Rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean finished as finalists for Defensive Rookie of the Year after the Eagles held opponents to the fewest passing yards per game. And who could forget about former Saints linebacker Zack Baun? The 28-year-old proved to be the steal of free agency on a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Perhaps resetting key components of the roster will help Philadelphia overcome any lingering

feelings — or resentment — toward the Chiefs.

But the loss served as a learning experience for the Eagles, too. Speaking to the media, Hurts called the defeat a “great driving force” for his career “I’ve evolved as a player, as a leader,” Hurts said. “I’ve been able to grow and learn from these different things, but ultimately the ﬂame has been ignited even more in terms of the desire of wanting to win. And working to win. You can’t just hope for the results to come without the work.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

and cracks jokes with his teammates. He invites them over to his house for dinner He plays rounds of golf with them. He is sincerely not above anybody else, and that matters

“It’s a good thing,” said safety Justin Reid, who played his high school football at Dutchtown. “He doesn’t give off the aura of he’s on the pedestal and you’re trying to wipe his feet or stuff like that; he is just a normal guy who hangs around in the locker room and jokes with the rest of us. That makes him so much cooler

“It’s not like he’s in a separate room from the rest of the team. He’s in there with us.”

Added backup quarterback Carson Wentz: “He has every reason to big-time people and to carry himself a different way, and he doesn’t. That’s what I value and appreciate about him. He takes care of guys.”

All of which makes it hard sometimes for the players to soak in the fact that being around Mahomes means witnessing history as it happens. Hard, but not impossible.

Juju Smith-Schuster is looking forward to the day he’ll be at his home watching football with his kids and pointing out the guy in the No. 15 jersey telling them, “I used to play with him.”

Wentz said he was motivated to come to Kansas City because of Mahomes — even though that means he will never see the ﬁeld unless the worst happens. He thinks Mahomes already has cemented himself as one of the game’s greats because of how much his team has won since he took over as the starter

“Shoot, what is he going for, his fourth Super Bowl in seven years starting?” Wentz asked. “That’s insane. I know a lot of people hate on the Chiefs and hate on him, but you can’t deny what he’s doing.” Mahomes will be on the field, Brady will be in the booth and history might be made — potentially with Brady’s help.

The pair have talked about football and what it takes to get a team to the moment when the right color of confetti is falling. When Brady speaks, Mahomes said he tries to soak up as much as he can. He still applies the lessons he’s learned in those conversations today, and there is one thing it all boils down to.

“It’s not about your stats, it’s not about how it looks,” Mahomes said. “It’s about winning football games.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore talks with reporters during Super Bowl LIX media day on Monday at the Caesars Superdome.

AP PHOTO By MATT yORK Super Bowl LIX halftime show performer Kendrick Lamar smiles during a news conference Thursday.

STAFF PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD Eagles running back Saquon Barkley speaks to reporters during Super Bowl LIX media day on Monday at the Caesars Superdome.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid speaks during a Super Bowl LIX media event on Tuesday at the New Orleans Marriott.

AP PHOTO By PETER JONELEIT Chiefs defensive back Trent McDufﬁe celebrates a stop against the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 24

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS SZAGOLA

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, right, celebrates his interception with linebacker Oren Burks during the NFC championship game against the Washington Commanders on Jan. 26 in Philadelphia.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ED ZURGA Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks to make a pass during the ﬁrst half of the AFC championship against the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 26 in Kansas City Mo.

Guide to ﬁrst legal betting Super Bowl in N.O.

BY ZACH EWING Staff writer

For the ﬁrst time, fans at a Super Bowl in New Orleans will be able to place legal bets from their phone — whether they’re in the Caesars Superdome stands, the Caesars casino down Poydras Street or anywhere in between Super Bowl LIX on Sunday will be the ﬁrst time the NFL hosts its championship here after mobile betting became legal in Louisiana in 2022, and you can bet (pun intended) that plenty of folks will be making wagers before kickoff and

even after the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles kick off at 5:30 p.m

The point spread for the game, as of Saturday afternoon, has the Chiefs favored by a single point. If that line holds, it’ll be just the fourth time in Super Bowl history the game has had a point spread inside of one point

The others? A pick ‘em meaning neither team is favored — between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots (who won on Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception) in 2015, and two other one-point spreads: The San Fran-

cisco 49ers were favored by 1 in a 26-21 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in 1982, and the meeting just two years ago between these same two teams.

That’s right in Super Bowl LXVII in Arizona two years ago, it was the Eagles who were 1-point favorites They lost, 38-35, and the Chiefs won again last year as 2-point underdogs against the 49ers.

Now, Kansas City is favored to become the ﬁrst team to win three straight Super Bowls. That’s even though most power rankings have the Eagles slightly better — such is

TOTAL YARDS: Over 3591/2 (-115); under 3591/2 (-115) FIRST SCORING PLAY: Rushing TD (+150); ﬁeld goal (+150); passing TD (+240); other TD (+2500); safety (+5000) FIRST DOWNS: Over 201/2 (-120); under 201/2 (-110) SACKS: Over 21/2 (+120); under 21/2 (-150) Player prop bets

General MVP: Patrick Mahomes (+120); Saquon Barkley (+225); Jalen Hurts (+330); Travis Kelce (+1100); Xavier Worthy (+3000); A.J. Brown (+3000); DeVonta Smith (+5000); Chris Jones (+6000); Kareem Hunt (+6000); Marquise Brown (+7000); Jalen Carter (+7500); Dallas Goedert (+8000); Zack Baun (+9000); George Karlaftis (+9000); Isiah Pacheco (+10000); (others available) FIRST TOUCHDOWN: Saquon Barkley (+420); Jalen Hurts (+575); Travis Kelce (+900); Kareem Hunt (+1000); Xavier Worthy (+1100); A.J. Brown (+1100); DeVonta Smith (+1400); Dallas Goedert (+1600); Isiah Pacheco (+1600); Marquise Brown (+1700); Patrick Mahomes (+2000); Noah Gray (+2800); Juju Smith-Schuster (+3000); DeAndre Hopkins (+3500); Eagles defense (+3500); Chiefs defense (+3500); (others) Quarterbacks

Patrick Mahomes PASSING YARDS: Over 2521/2 (-110); under 2521/2 (-110)

PASSING TOUCHDOWNS: Over 11/2 (-170); under 11/2 (+140) INTERCEPTION: Yes (+120); no (-150) COMPLETIONS: Over 241/2 (-115); under 241/2 (-115) PASSING ATTEMPTS: Over 361/2 (-105); under 361/2 (-125) LONGEST COMPLETION:

the magic of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who seems to ﬁnd ways to win close games every time.

If you’re not sure which side to bet, there are other ways to get in on the action. The over/under combined total of points scored by both teams — is 481/2 Two years ago, these teams combined for 73 points, but last year’s game totaled just 47 even though the Chiefs and Niners went to overtime. And then there are the prop bets. You can ﬁnd a way to bet on almost anything when it comes to the Super Bowl, although some of the more exotic offerings — such as

the length of Jon Batiste’s national anthem (over or under 1201/2 seconds), the number of times Taylor Swift will be shown on TV (over/ under 61/2) or the color of sports drink dumped on the winning head coach (purple is the favorite) — generally are only available at offshore (read: not technically legal) sportsbooks. We’ll stick to the more traditional variety Here’s a partial list of prop bets available. We’re using a combination of Caesars Sportsbook and DraftKings for this list, which is current as of Saturday afternoon.

RUSHING

RUSHING/RECEIVING YARDS: Over 281/2 (-120); under 281/2 (-110) RECEPTIONS: Over 11/2 (+185); under 11/2 (-230) TO SCORE TOUCHDOWN: Yes (+360) TO SCORE 2+ TDs: Yes (+1000)

Saquon Barkley

RUSHING YARDS: Over 1131/2 (-110); under 1131/2 (-120)

RUSHING ATTEMPTS: Over 211/2 (-130); under 211/2 (+105)

LONGEST RUSH: Over 241/2 (-120); under 241/2 (-110)

RUSHING/RECEIVING YARDS: Over 1301/2 (-115); under 1301/2 (-115)

RECEPTIONS: Over 21/2 (+155); under 21/2 (-190) TO SCORE TOUCHDOWN: Yes (-190) TO SCORE 2+ TDs: Yes (+275)

Receivers/tight ends

Travis Kelce RECEIVING YARDS: Over 611/2 (-115); under 611/2 (-115)

RECEPTIONS: Over 61/2 (+120); under 61/2 (-150)

LONGEST RECEPTION: Over 191/2 (-115); under 191/2 (-115) TO SCORE TOUCHDOWN: Yes (+130) TO SCORE 2+ TDs: Yes (+900)

Xavier Worthy RECEIVING YARDS: Over 551/2 (-115);

LONGEST

Pregame tears mean Jones ready for ‘war’

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP sports writer

KANSASCITY,Mo.— When the ﬁrst notes of the national anthem are played at the Super Bowl on Sunday and Louisiana native Jon Batiste launches into his rendition, chances are that Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones will have tears ﬂowing from his eyes. Doesn’t happen every game. But it does seem to happen for every big game.

Those tears are not exactly what they seem, though Jones isn’t so overly patriotic that he is moved to weeping. Nor is Jones reminiscing about some saccharine moment from his childhood growing up in Houston, Mississippi, or fondly recalling all those friends or family that have helped him reach the pinnacle of his career

No, it turns out that those are tears of anger

“Quick story I was watching the movie ‘300.’ One of my favorite movies, you know? Right before they go into battle, you have some like, crying, because they’re so mad. They’re going to war,” Jones explained this week. “In a sense of playing football, I actually go into that mind frame, like, I might not make it home tonight — knowing I’m going to make it home, but knowing I’m going to war It’s going to get bloody It’s going to get physical. I might not make it out. I might make it out.

“So in the midst of the national anthem, I have to put myself in that mind frame.”

As far as Jones can tell, the ﬁrst time tears fell was when he first played in the AFC championship game and Kansas City was beaten by the Patriots in overtime. Ever since, TV cameras fall on him like a magnet during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” knowing that they are likely to capture a seemingly poignant moment before the heat of battle begins

“I’m also retracing and going over all the obstacles it took me to get here, in a sense. Thinking about that, all that manifesting,” Jones said. “Tears start rolling because I’m so angry I’m going through so many emotions. Anything (negative) somebody said like, three weeks ago, I’m remembering. I’m just full of emotions.”

The way that Jones can manifest a certain mind frame certainly has paid off.

After winning his third Super Bowl ring last season, the three-time AllPro defensive tackle signed a ﬁveyear, $158.75 million contract that could mean Jones plays his entire career in Kansas City He was a secondround choice in the 2016 draft, and he’s been dominant almost from the moment he arrived, getting picked to the Pro Bowl each of the last six seasons.

Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who has faced him numerous times, called him “the best defensive player in football.”

“I mean, he is as dynamic as they come,” Brady said

The 30-year-old Jones only had ﬁve sacks this season a comparatively modest total given he’s twice had seasons of 151/2 But statistics represent only part of the story Because while Jones was getting double- and triple-teamed, and his sack total was deﬂating, the rest of the Chiefs defense was taking advantage of clear paths to the quarterback.

Defensive end George Karlaftis had eight sacks during the regular season and piled up three more during a divisional-round win over the Texans. Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton had 61/2 sacks, nearly double the total of his ﬁrst four NFL seasons.

“Even when it might not look like it,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said, “Chris is affecting the game.”

He’ll be right in the middle of the action in the Super Bowl, too.

“All we wanted was the opportunity to get here. We’re here,” Jones said. “Now we have to close the deal.”

Rookies could play key role in game

BY JOSH DUBOW AP pro football writer

Reed Blankenship was a parttime player as a rookie during Philadelphia’s Super Bowl run two years ago and only got on the ﬁeld for one defensive play against the Kansas City Chiefs.

That’s why he marvels at the impact Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have and on the Eagles this season, turning a secondary that was a decided weakness last season into a strength headed into the Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs on Sunday

“It’s crazy hard,” Blankenship said of having a big role as a ﬁrstyear player “It’s great to see our rookies grow the way they did. They play, they study and they ask questions like vets. Knowing that they know what their job is, it makes my life so much easier.”

Mitchell and DeJean are far from the only rookies who could play key roles on Sunday, with Kansas City ﬁrst-round receiver Xavier Worthy developing into a major part of the passing game in recent weeks. Mitchell, who ﬁnished second in voting for AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, has allowed

just five catches on 15 targets for 24 yards this postseason, according to NFL NextGen stats. Mitchell was drafted in the ﬁrst round despite playing college ball in the MAC at Toledo, but quickly has become one of the better cornerbacks in the league.

“I’m just living proof that it doesn’t matter where you come from,” he said. “Just got to put in the hard work and just believe it.”

DeJean helped elevate the defense after getting his ﬁrst start in Week 6 and has allowed just 97 yards on 15 targets this postseason. Philadelphia’s Jalyx Hunt has become a key situational pass rusher the second half of the season and had a sack in the divisional round against the Rams. Will Shipley had a 57-yard run and a forced fumble in kick coverage and Jeremiah Trotter has made key plays on special teams as GM Howie Roseman’s draft class has delivered. “We’ve gotten great contributions from our rookie class,” coach Nick Sirianni said “That’s a tribute to Howie and his staff of all the work they put in to get the right type of guys in, ﬁrst and foremost Talent only gets you

the ﬁrst part You’ve got to have something else to get to where we are right now.”

The Chiefs don’t have quite as many contributors from the draft class with safety Jaden Hicks the other key player along with Worthy. But the speedy Worthy, who set a record for the fastest 40-yard dash at last year’s combine, could be one of the most important rookies on Sunday Kansas City traded up to draft Worthy 28th overall last April but there were questions about how his 165-pound frame would hold up in the more physical NFL.

“I was coming into the season doubted,” he said. “Everybody said he’s not ﬁt to be a big-time receiver, he’s too small, injury prone. I feel like I proved everyone wrong and I’m going to continue proving everyone wrong.” Worthy leads the Chiefs with 10 TDs in the regular season and playoffs and has been at his best late in the season. He leads the team with 50 catches

A fond farewell to Sid ‘El Sido’ Williams

I continue to preach that if you want to participate in Louisiana’s rich music culture, you don’t have to run out and buy an accordion and a cowboy hat

Herman Fuselier

You can be the next Sid “El Sido” Williams, who died earlier this month at the age of 73. A fast talker who was never without a hat and a one-liner, Williams played the accordion. But he also built El Sido’s Zydeco and Blues Club in Lafayette, which became a launching pad for future Grammy winners, like the Emmy-winning band Buckwheat Zydeco. The band played on opening night in 1984. Every Mother’s Day and Christmas, Buckwheat Zydeco returned from world tours to play at El Sido’s. El Sido’s was the ﬁrst stage for Williams’ brother’s welltraveled band, Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas. Nathan Williams Jr grew up in his dad’s band and uncle’s club Lil Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timers now reign as one of the genre’s most popular bands. The club’s annual Thanksgiving food drive fed thousands of local residents. Music producers, documentarians and authors knocked on Williams’ door, eager to record and tell the story of El Sido’s. The documentaries include the CNN travel and food series “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.” El Sido’s is just a block away from Sid’s One Stop, Williams’ convenience store, plate lunch spot and gas station that eased the neighborhood food desert The business and cultural success is remarkable for Williams, who described himself as “notorious” in our 2015 interview in the Daily Advertiser The oldest of seven children, Williams lost his 41-yearold father, Sidney Sr., from a fatal heart attack.

“I used to ﬁght, get in trouble and go to jail,” said the younger Williams. “My mama said, ‘Don’t make mama cry like that.’ I thought about that for a long time.” Now family, friends and fans are crying about Williams’ passing and his enormous impact on zydeco and Creole culture. Social media is overﬂowing with memories, tributes and photos.

ä See EL SIDO, page 4D

SPECIAL GUEST

Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews, left, and Wild Man Chuck

Indian tribe, join singer Lauren Daigle on the Shell Gentilly Stage

Festival.

Lauren Daigle talks about Super Bowl show with Trombone Shorty, and what she’d say to Taylor Swift

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

Lauren Daigle, born in Lake Charles and raised in Lafayette, is arguably the most successful singer from south Louisiana since Britney Spears. She left LSU to launch her career in contemporary Christian music, then expanded her fanbase into the larger world of mainstream pop with the massive hit “You Say.”

A global audience in the tens of millions will watch Daigle and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews perform “America the Beautiful” on Sunday during the Super Bowl LIX pregame broadcast from the Caesars Superdome in her adopted hometown of New Orleans. During that all-Louisiana pregame show, Jon Batiste will animate the national anthem and New Orleans-born contemporary R&B vocalist Ledisi will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

In the following interview, lightly edited for length and clarity,

Daigle talks about how her Super Bowl collaboration with Trombone Shorty came about, what she’d say if she meets Taylor Swift, her possible law school future and more. Does the knowledge that millions of viewers will be watching you sing at the Super Bowl make you nervous?

I just noticed my hands are getting a little wet. Oh my gosh.

I’m excited. It’s going to be a beautiful opportunity for us to showcase what New Orleans represents, and the culture, and the beauty of unity in music.

New Orleans has seen some trying times recently To be able to offer a sound of hope for people in this city, to sing out over the city and from the city into the rest of the world, is going to be one of my

ä See DAIGLE, page 4D

Is northeast La. town Transylvania a vampire haven?

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

Jones, of the 9th Ward Black Hatchet Mardi Gras

during the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage

PROVIDED PHOTO

Sid ‘El Sido’ Williams

Louisiana legends fill ‘Why We Love Football: 100 Moments’

BY TED LEWIS Contributing writer

With a population of 4.1 million (and declining, according to the Census Bureau) Louisiana accounts for just 1.3% of the U.S. population.

And yet, in “Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments,” by Joe Posnanski, 17 of those 100 moments involve either Louisiana athletes and teams or events that occurred in the state.

And somehow that’s omitting the unmatched coaching career of Grambling’s Eddie Robinson, the historymaking Super Bowl performance of Doug Williams or the infamous end zone brawl between the mascots of LouisianaMonroe (then Northeast Louisiana) and Northwestern State.

Posnanski hadn’t heard about that one, but he promises it will be in Volume 2.

As for the seeming overrepresentation of the Bayou State in Volume 1, Posnanski, a ﬁve-time national Sports Writer of the Year, says that’s not the case, pointing out, “Look at all of the great athletes from Louisiana.”

And then there were the great Super Bowls played in New Orleans, plus the Sugar Bowl.

“I don’t think I realized how many Louisiana connections I had in there, but now I’m not surprised,” the author said. Famous and obscure

There are famous Louisiana connections, like Billy Cannon’s 1959 punt return against Ole Miss and Terry Bradshaw’s “Immaculate Reception” pass to Franco Harris. Then there are lesser-known ones, like Marcus Randall’s pass to Devery Henderson for LSU’s “Bluegrass Miracle” and John Ehret grad Kordell Stewart’s “Michigan Miracle” throw to Michael Westbrook that lifted Colorado to an unlikely victory Eli Manning makes the book twice: for the helmet catch throw to David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII, and fellow Newman grad Odell Beckham Jr.’s standard-setting one-hand grab in 2014.

Super Bowl IV, played at old Tulane Stadium, gets a double entry — for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Hank Stram being mic’d up (“65 Toss Power Trap”) and for being the ﬁrst Super Bowl halftime show that didn’t feature a marching band. Instead, we got Carol Channing and Marguerite Piazza.

This is the eighth book by Posnanski, 58, a former newspaper and Sports Illustrated columnist who has a regular newsletter, JoeBlogs, on his website

He’s also the author of “Why We Love Baseball,” which he managed to contain to 50 reasons.

Football despite its shorter history at least as our top pro sport, needed twice as many, and even that required some

painful omissions.

Not a pure ranking

In part, that’s because this is not a pure rankings exercise. Rather, it’s just as Posnanski says: 100 reasons why we love football so much.

He sums it up at the end this way:

“Football, I think, is our most emotional game. It takes fans to the mountaintop, and then it tears our hearts out. It lifts us and crushes us, thrills us and revolts us, leaves us empty and leaves us wanting and leaves us breathless.”

That’s why Posnanski adds, with a few exceptions, for every triumph, there is agony on the other side, and our most vivid football memories are probably more negative than positive.

Case in point: Saints fans probably won’t like reading about the Minneapolis Miracle Case Keenum’s 61-yard ﬁnal play touchdown pass to Stefon Diggins in the 2017 playoffs (We’re still looking at you, Marcus Williams).

At least Posnanski left out any of the other dozens of agonizing finishes Saints fans have endured while including two moments that surpass winning the Super Bowl in some minds Tom Dempsey’s then-record field goal in 1970 (No. 63, fittingly enough) and Steve Gleason’s blocked punt in the team’s joyous return to the Superdome in 2006 (No. 9 on his book, No. 1 in our hearts)

We recently spoke to Posnanski about writing about the sport he loves. The following Q&A has been lightly edited for space and clarity

I’m sure that you received plenty of suggestions about stories that should be included.Were there any you used you didn’t previously know about?

One was about Linda Jefferson, a running back for the Toledo Troopers of the National Women’s Football League.

In 1974, she rushed for 2,173 yards and scored 43 touchdowns. No NFL runner has ever beaten that.

There are a lot of Hail Marys in the book, including the original one — Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson in 1975.Why is that?

I could have done a whole section on miracle plays. My No. 1 play of all-time is Cal lateraling six times to beat Stanford although Millsaps did it 14 times to beat Trinity There’s nothing more entertaining in football, maybe all of sports.

You use a lot of footnotes. Explain.

I love ’em. They allow me to go off on a tangent. You can use them without distracting the reader from the main story but if you want to read them, there they are. You ranked Jerry Rice as your all-time greatest player Why was that?

Jerry Rice is No. 1 at his position by such a wide margin you can’t tell me who’s No. 2. Tom Brady might be the best quarterback, but you can make the argument for Peyton Manning or Johnny Unitas or even Patrick Mahomes, who is the current player I can see eventually breaking into my top 10. Jim Brown is the greatest running back, but what about Walter Payton or Barry Sanders?

Jerry Rice reinvented his position and stayed on top for 20 years by outworking everybody else. He just put everything together

What’s next for you?

I can’t say much about it, but fanhood. What it’s like to be a sports fan.

Since the Super Bowl is back in New Orleans this year, who’s your pick and why?

I think the Chiefs will beat the Eagles because they have Patrick Mahomes and until further notice, the team with Patrick Mahomes is the best team. I think it’s silly to give score predictions because they never come true, but I think it will be close, a one-score game, and the Chiefs will win because that’s just what they do.

I sense that there are a lot of people disappointed with the Super Bowl matchup. There were so many good stories this year, with the Lions and Bills and Commanders and so on, and here we are getting a repeat of the Super Bowl two years ago. But that was a fantastic game two years ago, and I expect another

What do you think of the Super Bowl in New Orleans?

I’m so thrilled that the Super Bowl is back in New Orleans! It is the single best Super Bowl town. I was in New Orleans for the Ravens-Niners game, the Patriots upset of the Rams and the Packers pound of the Patriots back in 1997, and those are three of my favorite weeks as a sports writer As far as I’m concerned, the Super Bowl should be in New Orleans every year

Weathering winter with great food, good books

world, thoughts quickly turn to food. That was pretty clear a couple of days before the snow arrived, as I crouched on all fours in a crowded grocery aisle. The place was packed as locals scrambled for things to eat during the coming snow day, and I was angling for the last two cans of chicken broth in the back of a bottom shelf. It was the key ingredient in some soup my wife was making, and I knew there’d be trouble if I came home empty-handed.

Along with warm things for dinner when the mercury plunges, books help get us through winter days, too. When I taught a college writing class, I’d tell students about the Caves of Lascaux, a network of underground spaces in France where prehistoric people painted big hunting scenes on the walls and ceilings. It was their way of connecting with stories, which they counted as a necessity in the cold and dark. Centuries later, days of dim light and slashing wind still make us hunger for stories, which is why winter reading is a special joy

That thought came to mind during last month’s snow day, which made our yard as cold and white as the moon.

Beside my armchair, stacked like ﬁrewood, were some books to get me through: “Rhine Journey,” a recently reissued novel by Ann Schlee; “Deﬁant Hope,” a posthumous collection of columns by Michael Gerson; and “The Leaving Season,” Kelly McMasters’ memoir of navigating a period of big personal change.

Two other books on my pile seemed especially ﬁtting for the season. In “How to Winter,” scientist Kari Leibowitz shares her research into how some people thrive in the coldest part of the year Leibowitz points to an earlier book as inspiration, Katherine May’s “Wintering,” so I put that one on my reading list, too.

Leibowitz describes herself as “a reformed winter-hater,” someone who despised the season until a stint working in the Arctic changed her mind. She came to understand that winter serves several purposes, including its beneﬁcial nudge to slow down.

“Almost every other living thing plant or animal — changes its behavior in winter,” she tells readers. “Leaves drop, ﬂowers die, the earth hardens in the slumber of hibernation, animals toe the line between life and death.”

Drawing on her research and the work of others, Leibowitz makes the case that humans should use winter as a special time for rest and renewal, too.

May makes many of the same points in “Wintering,” celebrating winter’s power to make spring feel even better

“We, who have wintered, have learned some things,” she writes. “We sing it out like birds. We let our voices ﬁll the air.”

Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com.

Danny Heitman AT RANDOM

STAFF FILE PHOTO By IRBy AUCOIN

Billy Cannon races past Ole Miss defenders on his legendary 89-yard punt return for the lone touchdown in LSU’s 7-3 victory on Oct 31, 1959, in Tiger Stadium.

Fly nonstop from New Orleans to these cities overseas

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

Rolling into the second month of the year and Louisiana residents have plenty of time to plan their vacations in 2025.

The Crescent City has plenty to keep residents busy at the start of the year with the Super Bowl in February and the Mardi Gras season, but those looking for a getaway can book nonstop ﬂights to over 50 cities from Louis Armstrong International Airport.

Six of those flights are international or to and from U.S. territories.

From famous Caribbean resort towns to a jaunt to Europe, here are all of the nonstop ﬂights out of the 50 states from MSY:

Toronto

Canada’s biggest city and the capital of the province of Ontario is a popular tourist spot and a hub of diverse cultures. Of course, it’s also

By Christopher Elliott

Elliott

close to Niagara Falls.

Air Canada flies five times per week

Montréal

The second-largest city in Canada is New Orleans’ main competition for the most French city in North America, and who can deny a plate of poutine?

Air Canada made seasonal adjustments to the Montréal ﬂight due to aircraft and crew constraints but MSY anticipates the ﬂight returning in a few months, an airport spokesperson said.

Air Canada flies two times per week through March.

London

Across the pond, London is a tourism giant in its own right with destinations like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey London also has several options for quick ﬂights across Europe. British Airways flies five times

before we left for proof. Please help me get my money back from these scam artists! — Mary Brewer,Weldon Spring, Missouri

No one should have to stay in the rental unit you described. The home, which you reserved on Booking.com and which was managed by Vacasa (a rental management platform) should have been clean when you checked in. Typically, when you

per week during peak months.

Honduras New Orleans’ large Honduran population is well served with a direct ﬂight to San Pedro Sula. The city is also a center for business and a transit hub for Central America.

Spirit Airlines ﬂies four times per week.

Cancun

There are several flight options for the Mexican coastal getaway, the spot for countless spring

to remember Spirit Airlines ﬂies three times per week and Southwest Airlines ﬂies two times per week during summer. San Juan Puerto Rico’s capital and biggest city is known for its beaches, night life and vibrant music.

Spirit Airlines ﬂies three times per week.

check in and the unit hasn’t been cleaned — that happens sometimes — the rental management company will send someone over to remedy the situation. But I believe there are cases in which a rental unit is unsalvageable. Examples of that include ﬁnding black mold, or a ﬁre hazard or rodents — or the powerful stench of animal urine. Yes, Vacasa could have cleaned the carpet and the bathtub, but if you have a dog allergy there’s no way it would have been enough. And as you note, neither Vacasa nor Booking.com ever indicated that the rental home was pet friendly which, for someone with an animal allergy, means “DO NOT RENT.” Ultimately, Booking.com is

responsible for the quality of the unit. The company listed the home on its site, and your accommodations were not as described. I can see from your paper trail that you tried to resolve this through Vacasa and Booking.com, but neither company was stepping up to give you a refund. A brief, polite appeal to one of the Booking.com executives, along with the photos and videos of the rental, might have ﬁxed this problem for you. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Booking.com customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. I contacted Booking.com on your behalf. A Booking.com representative noted that the

the implication being that you should have known this wouldn’t be the Ritz. It’s a vacation rental in Branson.

“That being said, after investigating this case, Booking.com can completely understand that the cleanliness of the stay did not meet the customer’s expectations,” the representative added. “We have reached out to the property on behalf of the guest and issued a full refund.”

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonproﬁt organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

STAFF FILE

PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

A flight lands at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

A beloved university Historical references point to the early 19th century, when a man named W.L. Richards purchased a large acreage in what is now East Carroll Parish. He named it for his beloved alma mater, Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky The university also wasn’t named for Romania’s Transylvania, but the 1770s Transylvania Colony in western Virginia. The colony chose the name because Transylvania’s Latin translation is “across the woods.”

Transylvania, Louisiana, stands 10 miles south of Lake Providence at U.S. 65’s junction with La. 581 near the Mississippi River in the state’s northeastern most corner These days, selfie seekers often stop in front of the post office for a quick photo on the backdrop of the community’s name. The post office once had its own bat postmark, and the now closed Transylvania General Store sold bat T-shirts and mugs.

We still get people who come in wanting the Transylvania postmark, but our postmark is just a regular postmark now,” postal clerk Mallory Payne said.

“It doesn’t have a bat. It’s just a quick hand stamp. It’s just an itty bitty town, and there’s really nothing to stop here for.”

Bats were once a thing

But the general store once tried to make Transylvania a tourist destination.

“The store has attracted sightseers from England, Italy, Iceland, Japan and even Romania’s Transylvania including a visitor who identiﬁed himself as a descendant of Count Dracula,” writes Gay N. Martin in the travel guide, “Louisiana Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places.”

The guide was last updated in 2008, a couple of years before the general store closed and the Farmhouse at Transylvania restaurant took its place in 2011.

The restaurant closed its doors in 2018, and its name probably best coincides with the community’s history of a Farm Security Administration agricultural project in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Still, stories of the general store captures the fun the community once had with its name.

“Besides food, dry goods and hardware, the owners sell lifesize rubber bats, skull replicas and about 250 dozen T-shirts a year with a bat logo,” Martin continues in the travel guide. “Be sure to take a peek at the ‘baby vampire bats’ in a lighted box.”

The lighted box, of course, was a gag with the “bats” being brick bats. Bats — especially those of the vampire variety didn’t factor

into the Farm Security Administration’s resettlement project in 1938. It’s ofﬁcial name was the LaDelta Project for Negro Farm Tenant Families in Louisiana and was among President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiatives.

An agricultural project

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Library, 12,024 acres of government-owned land in the area were allocated for use by the LaDelta Cooperative Association, assuring 147 Black tenant families social and economic security

“The entire acreage, which will be leased by the cooperative for 99 years, will be subleased in units of approximately 38 acres each of cultivated land to members Subleases also provide that crops shall be cooperatively processed and marketed,” the National Agricultural Library states.

Land tracts were purchased from absentee landlords, and tenant houses were replaced by model ﬁve-room homes at a cost of $1,450 each

However, Cleo Scott Brown, head of the History Matters Institute of Goose Creek, South Carolina, counters this historical account in her blog, cleoscottbrown.com, saying the land previously was owned by a company in Memphis and farmed by 250 Black families who were promised an opportunity to buy the land if it came up for sale.

The land, instead, was sold to the Farm Security Administration.

“Under this New Deal program under President Roosevelt, this land would be resold to poor whites in 40-acre plots for farms,” Brown writes. “Each farmer would also be provided a home and loan ﬁnancing. None of the black farmers who already lived there would be allowed to purchase any of the land.”

The NAACP and Black media outlets protested, and Black farmers eventually were given the opportunity to participate.

Ancient Indian mounds

Meanwhile, 30 farm units in this program were located by the Transylvania Mounds, a site that once was home to two plazas of ancient Indian mounds dating around 1400 A.D. It’s believed that at least 12 mounds made up these plazas with the largest standing 34 feet high.

All were rectangular in shape with ﬂat tops before being altered or leveled by the farming community. Only six of the mounds are now visible, all standing on private property and commemorated by a state historical marker at the intersection of La. 581 and Mound Road.

While an ancient civilization once thrived in Transylvania, Dracula is nowhere to be found.

Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

EL SIDO

Continued from page 1D and was simply curious about its name, whose inspiration, he surmised, likely wasn’t the Romanian home of a legendary vampire. Turns out, Boyd is right.

There is also an unsettling video interview, a reminder about the importance of community support. El Sido’s is the last of the original zydeco dancehalls. In some of our last conversations, Williams spoke about the tour buses that no longer came. Casinos and new clubs, imitating what he had been doing for decades, were taking the big crowds.

“I had a good run,” said Williams in the video. “But you know what people forget you, man. “This place should be packed

DAIGLE

Continued from page 1D

favorite things, maybe ever

How did it happen?

It was a couple behind-thescenes things. Trombone Shorty got the opportunity to sing and play “America the Beautiful.”

And he said, “I’d love to play it, but I have someone else in mind to sing it. I would really love it if Lauren sang on this.”

He had a vision, so he invited me. I was shocked. I said, “Do you understand the opportunity you gave me? Do you know what your generosity has given me?”

That just goes to show the beauty of the music scene in New Orleans. What I love so much is that it’s so communal. People are looking out for each other

Troy was in my music video for “These Are the Days.” He came up to me afterward, wrapped his arms around my shoulder and said, “You know I consider you a sister now You’ve got a brother in me.”

People say that, but it’s different when they say that and then actually follow that up with action. Troy has been such a friend to me in this industry I’m originally from Lafayette. I told him, “To come into this (New Orleans) community with such deep ties, it can be intimidating. But to feel such an incredible warm welcome, it means more than you would ever know.”

Over and over again, he has shown me that. I look up to so many people in New Orleans. I feel like I’m still the little girl who’s learning, wide-eyed.

You appeared on Shorty’s “Lifted” album and he joined you onstage during the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.You’ve developed a fruitful artistic collaboration with him. It’s super-harmonious. It’s organic. It doesn’t feel forced or like a business move. It just feels like, “I love that guy.”

When we rehearsed “America the Beautiful,” we worked on the song maybe 15 or 20 minutes, but we talked for over two hours, just hanging out in his studio. That’s a good sign. That’s what you want to pour into a performance like (the Super Bowl). You want the love and grit to be expressed on a stage of this caliber

You sang the national anthem in the Superdome when LSU beat Clemson in the 2020 college football championship game. Does that help you prepare for the Super Bowl?

Absolutely When you sing in the middle of the Superdome, the sound is spinning around you. A lot of acoustical landscape gets taken up. You always hear “Don’t listen to the delay, because you’ll get your words like ﬁve seconds behind what you’re actually singing.”

every Friday, Saturday and Sunday People that get to be successful in life, they should try to help another generation — because somebody helped me.

“I got to make a song about that bad luck and trouble don’t last always. If you live long enough, the sun gone shine once again.” Rest well, Sid Williams. Your legacy will shine for many years to come.

Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.

(At the championship game) I didn’t even pay attention to the delay because I was so excited that LSU and Joe Burrow were in that game. All I kept thinking was, “Just get through the song, because the sooner you get through the song, it’s kickoff, baby!”

I had so much fun singing that I didn’t really have time to be nervous. I got up there with so much zeal and excitement.

I feel like (Super Bowl) is going to be another one of those moments. I love when people come together and have something to celebrate that unifies. It fills me up so much. To sing those beautiful words about our country and to sing them for so many people who love this country and love the sport of football. it’s going to be a blast. The acoustics are definitely something you have to pay attention to, but for whatever reason, it didn’t trip me up last time. Fin-

gers crossed. Having an ex-LSU student sing the national anthem at that championship game may have given the Tigers an edge.

I was told, “Whatever you do, don’t wear LSU colors. On-camera, you cannot choose sides.”

But the second we were offstage, I (changed) into my LSU stuff and went upstairs to watch the game.

Which song is trickier to sing — the national anthem or “America the Beautiful”?

I would say the national anthem. You have to really pay attention to the words, because there’s a repeated phrase that, melodically can bring you into a different section.

We should talk about some of the most insane national anthem performances. Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl — are you kidding me? Chris Stapleton — are you kidding me? Those two go down in history

But I’ll say this: Jon Batiste came to Nashville and played at the Ryman Auditorium about a year ago. In the middle of one piece, he goes into the national anthem. It was the most incredible thing. It was Whitney Houstonstatus. It was Chris Stapletonstatus.

I looked over at my friend and said, “If he does not sing or play the national anthem for a Super Bowl, they are missing it.”

I think he’s going to do an incredible job.

After your performance with Trombone Shorty, will you stay on the sidelines to watch Jon?

If I’m allowed to stand there, 100%. There’s a lot of regulations. Maybe you’ll get to watch the game in a suite with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s family

Oh my gosh. Somebody said, “You better hope that the Chiefs get to the Super Bowl, because you’re going to meet Taylor Swift.” I feel like her security team has her situation on lock.

But it would be a sweet thing if I did get to meet her A couple years ago, Taylor or her team sent me this really kind package. It was like this Taylor Swift experience with this VIP plexiglass golden ticket, if you will, to come and meet her and hang. I was on tour so I didn’t get to go, but it was really sweet.

If I do get to meet her I’ll give her a bear hug and say, “Girl, how IN THE WORLD do you do it?”

In December, you performed two Christmas shows at the Saenger Theatre. On the first night, the audience wasn’t giving you much energy back

The ﬁrst night was the tough night. The second night, I said, “Where did these fans come from?” They were the total opposite.

We did ﬁve (Christmas) shows. We ended in New Orleans on such a high, because that (second) crowd was so much fun. But that ﬁrst crowd, I was like, “Y’all are making us work tonight.”

I remember opening for someone and having a conversation with myself about “you cannot expect the audience to tell you how well, or not well, you’re performing.”

This is why: There are people who, when they absolutely love something, sit there just straightfaced, soaking it up, taking it in.

I have been that person at a show in complete awe, where my facial expression shows nothing, because I’m truly absorbing it.

I’ve also been to concerts where I am running around screaming at the top of my lungs because somebody did something so musically inspiring.

So I’ve told myself, “When you perform, don’t put the expectation on the audience. Put the expectation on yourself to love the performance, to have a great time, to perform as best as you can.” What that lack of expectation

(from the audience) does is, when they do show up, it brings the show from 10 to 100. It’s a special thing. You deﬁnitely feed off of the energy I have a 12-piece band. I’m the 13th and the audience is the 14th. A crowd can feed into how a set sounds. I will change the way I sing, the band will change things they play, different licks and tones. We also change the set based on the crowd: “What are they trying to tell us tonight? Where do they want us to guide them?”

There’s a beautiful, unique relationship with an audience. But going into that relationship, it’s like a healthy marriage — don’t expect something from the other side. So when you get something, it’s really beautiful.

Looking ahead, you have a few concerts in 2025, including two in South Africa. That’s a long way to go for just two shows. I’m going to do some other things while I’m there. I worked with an organization called ChildFund on my ﬁrst world tour to sponsor kids in Africa. So I’d like to go to that village and be able to see them.

During your first Christmas show at the Saenger, your charitable Price Fund gave $25,000 to the Roots of Music, the afterschool marching band program.

I’ve watched that program in action. These are men and women that care for the next generation. They see the need, they meet the need. They encourage these kids with conﬁdence, they give them purpose, they give them a skill. They increase their learning capabilities because they not only teach music but they do their homework with them, they give them a snack and a meal.

That’s how we’ll see positive change. Real change comes in those interpersonal relationships. To be able to champion the people that are making a difference is an honor

It’s been a year and half since you released your self-titled album on Atlantic Records.What’s next?

I went to the crafts store recently I told my mom I needed to get 10 posters. I have to start dreamboarding what the next year looks like, what the next ﬁve years looks like. I need to map it all out. I need to do a chart or graph. It’s all in my mind and I need to get it out on paper

I’ve been on tour with Jon Batiste and he is sleep, drink, eat, breathe music at all times. Jon is the opposite of me. He can be on the road and writing records at the same time.

That’s a technique I’m going to learn. But in the meantime, we ﬁnished touring and I’m taking a break. What naturally comes when I just rest is I ﬁnd myself at the piano starting to write again. The second a tour winds down, it’s rocket fuel (for songwriting).

I’ve started writing new songs. I can deﬁnitely see having another record out in the next couple years. I look forward to building the Price Fund. I was having a conversation with the attorney general and she was telling me, “Lauren, I can see the passions you have. You should go to law school.” Before I got into music, I was planning on going to law school. So there are these other dreams that I’d love to take time to expand upon.

Rewriting legislation for children, being a voice for kids in foster care or kids that have experienced domestic violence. to actually have time to work on some of those things would be really special. Music will never leave me. That is just a natural part of who I am. But I also want to see what the next season of life looks like.

Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By TRIPADVISOR

A close-up of the bat on Transylvania’s water tower which welcomes visitors to the community along U.S 65.

STAFF PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

Singer Lauren Daigle performs during her concert, Behold: A Christmas Tour, at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans on Dec. 11, 2024.

AT THE TABLE

Fond fishing memories found in this simple, creamy soup

BY CATHERINE S COMEAUX Contributing writer

The Gulf has been a source of joy for me and at times tortuous, since the days I wore a little bright orange life vest.

Despite occasionally having my spine pounded while boating across its rough waters, I’ve enjoyed a lifetime of sailing, water skiing and ﬁshing along the United States’ southern coast. Speckled trout caught on its oil rigs have always been a staple in my diet.

When the ﬁsh are biting, my family gets into a rhythm of baking, frying or serving our ﬁsh over rice.

This simple ﬁsh soup recipe has been a delicious addition to our repertoire.

I add coconut milk a nod to the coconuts we ﬁnd beachcombing on the coastal chenieres — and the resulting light creaminess is delightful.

Selling ﬁsh to Don’s Seafood in downtown Lafayette was how I made my ﬁrst dollar when I was a child

Whether or not I had pulled a single ﬁsh in on my line (I was not and am still not the best ﬁsher), I shared in a portion of the take-home pay when my dad pulled his pickup truck to the kitchen door on Vermilion Street to sell our catch.

The rule was: if you went fishing, risked your life riding in the back of a truck to the landing and then endured the boat ride to the rigs, the heat and the high seas, then you got a cut. As a kid, I was not convinced that I liked the taste of fish — perhaps I’d seen too many flopping on the bottom of a hot aluminum boat

Perhaps it was the smell of speckled trout slime. A nice plate of salty fried ﬁsh would banish all those vivid memo-

ries, but it had to be heavily fried. As I grew up, Tony Chachere’s seasoning and butter helped me transition to a tolerance of baked fish. I have since come to enjoy fish, cooked to allow its flavors to shine through like it does in this fish soup I found the recipe in one of my favorite places to look for new ideas — the library — where visitors can peruse a vast array of cookbooks without the incessant distractions of online searching (oh look, a frying pan for sale!).

Mark Green’s illustrations in Roy F. Guste Jr.’s cookbook “Gulf Coast Fish” caught my eye with their vivid colors painted as they would appear underwater, a contrast to what they look like on ice at the seafood counter The cookbook introduces more than 70 Gulf Coast ﬁsh, giving their common names, Latin names and descriptions of their meat characteristics with preferred cooking methods. Most of the ﬁsh were familiar but some were quite exotic, reminding me of the expansiveness of the Gulf.

The U.S Geological Survey has recently been directed to change how it denotes the Gulf of Mexico. Whether it becomes recognized as the Gulf of America remains to be seen. (Gulf of North America would be more accurate.)

Those of us who intimately interface with its waves, winds and ﬁsheries will fumble with the awkwardness of it for some time. Though, if sharing a common name with the U.S. inspires us to better protect our Gulf waters and the abundant life they contain, then it’s a name change worth bumbling over Only time will tell. In the meantime, get down to the southern coast, drop a line in and try this soup

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday, Feb. 9, the 40th day of 2025. There are 325 days left in the year Today in history

On Feb. 9, 1964, the Beatles made their ﬁrst live American television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” broadcast from New York on CBS. The quartet played ﬁve songs, including “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” to a crowd of screaming teenagers in person and more than 70 million viewers across the country. On this date In 1825, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

In 1943, the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Paciﬁc ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.

In 1950, in a speech to the Women’s Republican Club in Wheeling, West Virginia, Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin charged that the State Department was riddled with Communists.

In 1971, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in California’s San Fernando Valley claimed 65 lives.

In 1984, Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, 69, died 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin Chernenko, who would only be in power for 13 months before his own death in ofﬁce.

In 1986, Halley’s comet made its closest pass by Earth since 1910. (The comet’s next appearance will be in 2061)

In 2009, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs, telling ESPN he’d used banned substances while with the Texas Rangers for three years.

In 2020, “Parasite,” a film from South Korea, won the Academy Award for Best Picture, becoming the first non-English language film to do so. In 2021, the Senate moved ahead with a second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, rejecting arguments that the chamber could not proceed because Trump was no longer in office

Today’s birthdays: Artist Gerhard Richter is 93 Nobel Prize-winning author J.M Coetzee is 85. Singer-songwriter Carole King is 83. Actor Joe Pesci is 82. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is 82. Author Alice Walker is 81. Actor Mia Farrow is 80. Actor Judith Light is 76. Golf Hall of Famer Sandy Lyle is 67. Writer-producer David Simon (TV: “The Wire”) is 65. Country singer Travis Tritt is 62. Baseball Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero is 50. Actor Charlie Day is 49. Actor Zhang Ziyi is 46. Actor Tom Hiddleston is 44. Actor Michael B. Jordan is 38. Actor Rose Leslie is 38. NFL running back Saquon Barkley is 28.

Fish Soup Serves 6; Recipe is adapted

1. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, saute

for 3-5 minutes over medium

2. To the soup pot, add stock, tomatoes, parsley, green pepper sauce, red chili ﬂakes, garlic, bay leaves and thyme.

3. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer Cook for 20 minutes covered.

4. Stir in coconut milk and lime juice.

5 Season ﬁsh with garlic powder and black pepper then add to soup pot and simmer 10 minutes or until ﬁsh is opaque and tender 6. Salt to taste.

‘Winter Art Thaw’

Celebrate the mid of winter when the Elizabethan Gallery sponsors the annual Winter Art Thaw, an open house and art opening, 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 20, at 680 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge.

Among the participating artists are Carol Creel, Kathy Daigle, Keith Douglas, Betty Efferson, Janice Evans, Carol Hallock, Mariana Kalacheva, Diego Larguia, Kay Lusk, Lynn McDowell, Katie McGarry, Dana Mosby, Andrea Phillips, Claire Pasqua, Muriel Prejean, Krista Roche, Cathy Smart and Nancy Smitherman.

Admission is free, and refreshments will be served. For more information, call (225) 924-6437.

‘Bad Romance’ concert

Tickets are on sale for “Bad Romance: An Anti-Valentine’s Day” concert, the next performance in the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra’s multi-sensory concert series, “Concert in the Cosmos,” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12-13 in the Louisiana Art & Science Museum’s Pennington Planetarium, 100 S. River Road, Baton Rouge.

hot red peppers, seeded and minced for the green pepper sauce and red chili ﬂakes.

3. The original recipe does not call for coconut milk nor lime juice. Taste the soup before adding and omit if you prefer 4. Serve with baguette slices grilled in butter

ON THE ARTS AND CULTURE SCENE

The concert will feature iconic breakup songs performed by a musical duo on the backdrop of planetarium visuals.

Tickets are $40-$60. Visit brso org.

‘Umbrella of Color’

The installation, “Umbrella of Color,” by students in Glasgow Middle School’s talented visual arts program will run through March 31 in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge. Coinciding with the installation will be a reception at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 13.

Admission is free.

‘Moon Mouse’ tickets

Tickets are on sale for Lightwire Theater’s production of “Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey” at 2 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Manship Theatre in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge. Tickets are $25 plus fees. Call (225) 344-0334 or visit manshiptheatre.org.

‘Sing & Swing’

Tickets are on sale for Opera

Louisiane’s annual “Sing & Swing” fundraiser at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Crowne Plaza, 4728 Constitution Ave Tickets range from $125 for a standard ticket to a table for 10 at $2,600. Visit operalouisiane. com.

CYT’s ‘Seussical’

Tickets are on sale for Christian Youth Theatre’s production of “Seussical,” opening Feb. 13 at Abundant Life Church, 206 Edgewood Drive, Denham Springs.

Tickets are $19 for general admission and $16 for children younger than age 12 and groups of 15 or more. All tickets are $22 at the door. Visit cytbatonrouge.org/shows/ Seussical/27.

‘Sweet Honey’ tickets

Tickets are on sale for the rescheduled performance of “Sweet Honey in the Rock” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15, in the Manship Theatre in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge. Tickets are $55-$75. Call (225) 344-0334 or visit manshiptheatre. org.

In New Roads

The Poydras Center, 500 W. Main St., New Roads, is hosting a duo art exhibition through March featuring the artwork of Louisiana artists Kellie Martin Smith and Olivia McNeely Pass.

Smith is an abstract artist who grew up in the New Roads area and now lives in Lafayette. Her website is kjaneart.com. Pass is an impressionist painter who lives in St. Francisville. Her website is oliviapassartist.com. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The show is a collaboration between the Arts Council of Pointe Coupee and the Pointe Coupee Historical Society Admission is free. For more information, visit pointcoupeehistoricalsociety.com.

At LSU Museum

The LSU Museum of Art in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge, is showing “In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870-1940, Works from the Bank of America Collection” through March 23. Visit lsumoa.org.

Workers hogging all the coffee shop tables

Dear Miss Manners: The opportunity to work remotely has offered many individuals the freedom to engage in workrelated activities not only at home, but also in public places such as libraries and cafes — basically anywhere that offers Wi-Fi and provides tables and chairs for patrons.

This is the case at a coffee shop where I often go to enjoy a coffee and a pastry They serve coffee in paper cups and bag all food items to go, but if there is an open seat, one can stay and consume the items in the shop. Unfortunately, this is rarely possible because all of the tables for two are occupied by single customers and their laptops. Usually they have no food or beverage beside

them (presumably having consumed it earlier), but they still retain their spot for one to three hours. I therefore have no choice but to consider my items takeout. What is the etiquette for working with a laptop in a coffee shop? And what is a reasonable time frame for doing so?

Gentle reader: This is a commercial transaction, but even commercial transactions can be gracious — if everyone knows the rules and abides by them. Unfortunately, no one does not only because camping out in the coffee shop is a relatively new phenomenon, so the rules are still evolving, but also because everyone has a strong opinion and is only too happy to share it. Those opinions are usually punctuated by scolding those who do not immediately comply A reasonable guideline is that as the establishment is

selling refreshments, not of-

ﬁce space, those who wish to remain should replenish their purchases at more-or-less regular intervals.

Dear Miss Manners: I had a text message argument with my best friend’s husband. None of the exchanges were offensive. I thanked him kindly for trying to help ﬁnd a job for my partner, but said that I preferred to handle the situation myself.

I had mentioned that working as a caregiver to psychiatric patients was not in alignment with my partner’s professional experience, and that I had concerns he could be potentially injured at the job. He then implied that my partner was unmotivated. My friend said that her husband is very mad at me. She often invites me to see her new home; however, I do not want to inconvenience either of them. What should I say to my friend, as I genuinely do not

want to annoy her husband?

Gentle reader: Too late. You already annoyed him with your suggestion that psychiatric patients were going to injure your partner and he already annoyed you by calling your partner unmotivated.

Assuming that you want to maintain the friendship, what you need to avoid is not your friend’s husband, but communicating with him only via text. Texting is already prone to misunderstandings because it strips out necessary context. This is exacerbated when the people on either end do not know one another well.

If you do not want to go to your friend’s home, invite her to yours for some actual social interaction.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners. com or to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail. com.

PHOTO By CATHERINE S COMEAUX

Fish Soup is served in a bowl on a handcrafted platter by ceramicist Luann Duhon.

from “Gulf Coast Fish: A Cookbook” by Roy F. Guste

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Wrangler’s job is to keep the cute ‘Puppy Bowl’ pups happy

From ‘reading butts’ to ‘timeouts,’ Victoria Schade job trains hundreds of dogs

BY MARK KENNEDY

AP entertainment writer

NEWYORK — If you tune into the “Puppy Bowl” on Sunday you’ll likely see a key person’s inﬂuence — even if you don’t actually see her Victoria Schade is a dog trainer and novelist who’s the show’s lead puppy trainer and wrangler She’s the one making sure the shelter pups have a conﬂict-free contest and that they’re captured at their most adorable all from off-camera

It is Schade who gets the puppies to look up during the “The Star-Spangled Banner” or run through a tunnel to get to the field for the starting lineups. She’s on the lookout for possible conﬂicts or nervous dogs.

“My responsibilities include ensuring puppy happiness and safety during gameplay,” she says.

“So if there’s any moment where a puppy looks like they’re overwhelmed or they just need a break, I’ll step out and give them a little break on the sideline.” Schade has been working with the doggies on the Animal Planet show for 19 years and is believed to be the longest serving member of the “Puppy Bowl” crew She also works the kitten halftime show and calls ﬁlming both her favorite week of the year

“I think she is one of the most dedicated, hardest working people out there in the business,” says “Puppy Bowl” referee Dan Schachner, now in his 14th year “She doesn’t ever seem to run out of energy She never says no to a request and there’s always brightness and sunshine from her with every step.”

Schade has coached hundreds of dogs over the years but never adopted one from the show — until now She took home Boris — known on the show as Mr Pickles from Dallas Dog rescue. “I saw star quality So this was the year,” she says.

Treats and funny noises

Early on, Schade was responsible for recruiting and selecting the puppies, a task now that leans on animal rescue groups and shelters throughout the country These days, she’s the lead trainer

“If you’re seeing the puppy looking up at the camera, I’m typically right there with the treat,” she says. “It’s a lot of treats and funny noises. And that does the trick.”

This year, Schade is stepping out from the sidelines and joining Schachner on camera for an hourlong pre-game kickoff show, which features

HOW TO WATCH

Puppy Bowl XXI premieres at 1 p.m. Sunday on Animal Planet

a doggie combine and a draft. Other show highlights include segments with Dan Smyers, from superstar country duo Dan + Shay, and Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi.

Schade has developed some very special animal-related skills over the years, including anticipating when one of the players needs to relieve itself.

“One of my ‘Puppy Bowl’ skills is reading butts. So I know when a puppy is going to go to the bathroom and I’ll typically say like, ‘Watch out in the 20-yard-line, we’re going to have a deposit’ and everyone’s ready to go with that cleanup.”

The “Puppy Bowl” made its debut as counter-programming to the Super Bowl in 2005 Dogs score touchdowns on a gridiron carpet when they cross the goal line — any goal line — with a toy in their mouth.

The show is really just an excuse to spend time watching adorable, clumsy pups play with chew toys, wag their tails furiously and lick the camera. A deeper reason is to encourage animal adoption

According to the ASPCA, approximately 390,000 shelter dogs are euthanized each year and 2 million shelter dogs are adopted.

Most of the puppies are usually adopted by airtime, since the show was ﬁlmed in the fall. But the point is to show that animals just like the ones on the show can be found at any shelter at any time.

This year’s three-hour television event this year will feature 142 rescue puppies from 80 shelters across 40 states and one from Nicaragua a Chihuahua-German shepherd. There

will be 11 special-needs dogs.

“That’s the most amount we’ve ever had,” says Schachner

“Look out for Jolene, who is a pitbull mix that’s in a wheelchair. Look out for a three-legged Boston terrier from New York City And my personal favorite, is Sprinkle, who is a blind and deaf Aussie. So it’s just incredible to watch them play.”

The inaugural “Puppy Bowl” was watched by nearly 6 million viewers. Last year 12.6 million viewers tuned in In comparison, this year’s Golden Globes attracted 9.3 million.

Practical advice for raising puppies

Schade whose ﬁrst book was “ Bonding With Your Dog ” and who then pivoted to writing pet-oriented novels, like “Life on the Leash” and “Dog Friendly,” is a wealth of information about our four-legged friends.

She advises dog owners to learn to read the body language of their pet, to try to understand what they’re trying to say Like tail-wagging — how tight? And where is the tail positioned?

Schade is a big advocate for positive reinforcement and science-based training, not the so-called alpha dog approach, which uses intimidation or force.

“There’s no need to be the alpha, which has been debunked anyway You are your dog’s ally You’re their friend. You’re their No. 1. And it’s a relationship based in compassion and understanding.”

That means load up on treats. She advocates keeping them in your pocket and consistently using them as rewards for good behavior, especially when potty training.

“I cannot stress it enough: When you think you’re treating enough, treat more because, especially during puppyhood, it is such a critical learning period and every interaction is a chance to teach something.”

Chiefs player coaches a mutt in ‘Puppy Bowl’

BY NICK INGRAM Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Before the Kansas City Chiefs made it to their thirdstraight Super Bowl berth, one player took to coaching a puppy for a different big game.

Chiefs defensive tackle

Derrick Nnadi and his girlfriend, Nani Hinton, visited The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City in October to coach Parsnip, a 4-month-old mutt, to make his debut at Puppy Bowl XXI.

“I’m his coach. I am putting him through rigorous training,” Nnadi said at the time. “It’s a process, it’s a young kid, a lot of raw potential, but he’s going to be a star.”

“Puppy Bowl” debuted in 2005 as counterprogramming to the Super Bowl and also promotes pet adoption. The show features more than 100 canine entries from shelters and rescue groups across the U.S. Dogs score touchdowns on a makeshift football field by crossing a goal line with a toy

When Parsnip came to the Humane Society in August, he had a broken leg.

“Parsnip is a sweet little pup,” Sydney Mollentine, president and CEO of The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City said in October “He’s been in our foster care for about eight weeks to get that broken leg healed. And as you can tell, he has no problems running around and working on that leg.”

Nnadi said Parsnip just needed to focus.

“You will see one little squirrel, he gone. He sees a little toy, he gone. He sees

multiple people, he’s gone,” said Nnadi, who likes to refer to Parsnip as Parsnickety “But the second we get that laser focus, he’s gonna be phenomenal.”

“Puppy Bowl” is recorded in advance Since its ﬁlming, Parsnip has been adopted, Mollentine said. The pup is now 7 months old. Nnadi has been working for a few years to help get dogs into loving homes in the area by paying fees for more than 500 successful adoptions so far He has partnered with organizations including The Humane Society and KC Pet Project.

“I think it’s very important for a lot of these dogs that don’t really see or have an opportunity to have a forever home,” Nnadi said. Nnadi said his work with animal shelters began when he adopted his first dog, Rocky “He was a very timid dog. A lot of things I was not really fond of how his living arrangements were. He wasn’t around that many people with dark lighting and everything,” Nnadi said. “It’s just made me really kind of empathize how kind of a lot of dogs go through it and their life trying to survive.”

He said he helped Rocky build conﬁdence to become the “happy-go-lucky dog” he is today “I feel like everybody needs at least one furry friend in their life,” Nnadi said.

Mollentine said her organization, which has a shelter in Kansas City, Kansas, is grateful for Nnadi’s help prompting adoptions. The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City has been in operation since 1912.

Alternating cleaning products not encouraged by manufacturers

crispy browned bits underneath.

Dear Heloise: Because ceramic cooktop cleaner is so effective on my stovetop, I have often wondered about using the product to clean other kitchen items, speciﬁcally baking dishes and pie plates. Being concerned about its safety, however, I decided to call the product manufacturer and inquire about alternate usages.

In fact, because I didn’t like the answer when I called the ﬁrst time, I waited another year or so to see if there was a change of policy but the answer was the same: “No, only use it on the stovetop.” — Lesli H., via email

Garage sale

Dear Heloise: In a recent column, I read your hint about garage sales. When I had one, I wore a fanny pack instead of using a cash box. Therefore, the money is always with you, and you can freely move around. — Carol, in Bakersfield, California

Pharmacy scam calls

Dear Heloise: I get the similar pharmacy scam calls about once every three reﬁlls. It always comes after I get my text notice that the prescription is ready for pickup. I think mine is AIgenerated, since it is always the same elderly lady calling with no background noise. Again, they call to update my

Medicare information, but I don’t have Medicare. So, I hang up. — Daniel T. via email

Bloodstained jacket

Dear Heloise: In a recent column, Joyce from Casper, Wyoming, was asking how to get old deer blood stains out of her husband’s hunting jacket. She also noted that he refused to part with it. I submit that those blood stains are part of a successful hunting memory Cleaning them from the jacket without discussing it with her husband may be a very bad idea. — Roger R., via email

The perfect fried egg

Dear Heloise: I thought I had ﬁnally learned to make the perfect fried egg — you know, with the

I was achieving perfection with a good-quality stainless steel skillet that was heated to medium. I would add grapeseed oil until it shimmers before adding the egg, then baste the egg with the oil as it cooks. The egg would release nicely with the browned bits intact, creating the perfect basted fried egg. Suddenly, however, the eggs would not release, leaving all that goodness stuck in the pan to be scraped out. Do you have a solution? I believe that the pan is perfectly clean. I am now using a stainless steel cleaner, and there is no residue when I start cooking. — Barbara K., in California Barbara, ﬁrst try olive oil or canola oil for cooking and cook it over medium heat. However never use a spray oil as this will cause a buildup in your pots and pans. — Heloise

Toothbrushing protocol

Dear Heloise: In response to K.W., in Virginia, it is best to refrain from rinsing your mouth with water after brushing your teeth. Expectorate the majority of the toothpaste after brushing, but allow the rest of the toothpaste to remain around your teeth for several more seconds. This provides more time for the ﬂuoride residue to be absorbed into the surface of the tooth instead of being rinsed down the drain! Janice J., via email Send a hint to heloise@heloise. com.

marriage

Dear Kid Connection: Tell your partner that you are enjoying your relationship and agree with him that it may be time to think about your future together.

Share that you are curious about his relationship with his children and what that may look like in the future

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City MO 64106. Partner seems inattentive toward his kids from previous

How can I address my concerns with him before moving further into our relationship? Kid Connection

Dear Harriette: At the beginning of last year, I met the man of my dreams. He continues to amaze me in more ways than one: He prioritizes me; he’s really considerate and affectionate; he’s accomplished and ambitious; AND he’s hilarious. Lately, though, I’ve been having some concerns about what our future will look like. He has three children from a previous marriage. He always makes it seem as though things are amicable with them and going well, but I don’t feel totally conﬁdent. Although he is really attentive and proactive when it comes to my needs and our relationship, I worry because it is rare that I hear or see him interacting with his children. We often spend entire weekends together, and I am beginning to wonder when or if he spends time with them. He often reassures me that he sees them for all important occasions and “as needed” (which he claims is often during weekdays), but I’m not sure how true that is and don’t necessarily know how to express that. I love my partner and he has expressed a strong desire to have more children in the future.

Ask to meet his children so you can see for yourself what type of relationship they have It could be that he has established a rhythm with them that works, or it could be that they are completely estranged. Find out by meeting them and seeing for yourself, and continue the conversation about the future and what you both envision life together to be like Dear Harriette:One of my best friends and I met and grew up

together in the church. For as long as we’ve known each other, we’ve been heavily involved in our church community practices and traditions. The past few years, though, I’ve noticed that she has taken a really big step back from these things. I’m not sure if it’s intentional or if it’s simply a matter of time or other priorities in her life. I am still heavily involved in our childhood church and share stories and updates with her often, but she never mentions wanting to return or stop in or restart, so I wonder if that’s a conversation she’d prefer not to have. I know people’s spiritual life can sometimes be a sensitive topic, and I want to be mindful of that, but I’d also hate to see a

friend miss out on this aspect of her life because I was too afraid to ask some hard questions. How can I inquire about changes in her spiritual life without coming off as intrusive? I don’t want to be presumptuous or overstep. — Come Back Dear Come Back: Sit with your friend and tell her you miss her at church. Share how important it has been for you at this time in your life. Ask her if she would consider coming to a service or another activity to see if it’s still a ﬁt for her Don’t push. Invite.

Hints from Heloise

PROVIDED PHOTO By RyAN MUIR

Animal expert Victoria Schade interacts with some of the many puppies on the set of ‘Puppy Bowl XXI,’ airing Sunday on Animal Planet.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NICK INGRAM Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, right, and his girlfriend Nani Hinton, coached Parsnip, a puppy from The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City that will be featured in the Puppy Bowl on Sunday.

inroads Making

Local outposts emerge as Louisiana’s tech sector finds its footing

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Ted Elliott wasn’t planning to build a technology business in Louisiana.

He’d spent his 25-year tech career on the West Coast and in 2018 became CEO of Copado, a software ﬁrm. But in 2021, after surviving a serious battle with cancer, he decided to move to New Orleans, his mother’s hometown and the place where she had retired.

“When we thought I was dying, my wife asked me, ‘What do you want to do if you’re not going to recover?’ and I said that I wanted to be close to my parents,” Elliott said during a recent interview “When I was recovering, she said ‘Why do we have to wait to die to be near your parents?’”

His move got him thinking about whether

Ted Elliott, CEO of Copado, center, speaks with members of his team in New Orleans. Some companies like Copado, which is based in California, are seeing the value of a Louisiana outpost, even if many employees are still based elsewhere.

New Orleans might be a good spot to build a new Copado outpost In the world of remote work, employees could live anywhere. He could get direct ﬂights to the West Coast and to the company’s headquarters in Chicago. Trips to New York, Washington and Atlanta were also faster than from his former home out west, and connections to Europe were easy enough. He researched state tax incentives for tech businesses, and in 2024, he made his ﬁrst local hire. The company now employs 13 people in New Orleans, and Elliott plans for that number to hit 25 by the middle of the year In many ways, Copado is a new poster child for the types of tech companies — and tech jobs — that are arriving in the Pelican State.

Traffic through state’s ports point to

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

Lured by skyscraper-sized vessels and resort-style pools, luxury spas, ice skating rinks and other ﬂashy amenities, a younger generation of travelers is helping propel the cruise industry to record passenger numbers, both locally and nationwide. In New Orleans, 1.21 million passengers boarded or got off a cruise ship in 2024, according to the Port of New Orleans,

the highest passenger tally in the port’s history. The record number bested the 1.19 million passengers who passed through the port in 2019, the previous high-water mark Baton Rouge, which has been trying for nearly a decade to position its downtown as a destination for river cruises, also saw an increase in the number of cruise ship passengers last year The uptick signals a rebound for an industry that was decimated by the corona-

virus pandemic. Vessels were shut down for nearly a year and some analysts predicted at the time that the industry would never recover On the contrary, it has made a roaring comeback thanks to shifting demographics and a healthy economy Beth Branch, president and CEO of Port NOLA, credited cruise companies and hospitality partners for the record ﬁgures and said things were

ä See CRUISE, page 2E

recovering cruise industry

A number of factors are helping boost the cruise industry, such as a favorable economy with continued wage growth and low unemployment, experts say.

STAFF

STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE

Ted Elliott, CEO of Copado, left, and Jack Irvin, vice president of People for Copado When Elliott moved to Louisiana to be closer to family, he shifted his role in his company to start an outpost in New Orleans.

Financial plans should start with an honest assessment

Perhaps you’ve heard a version of this quote often attributed to the inventor Thomas Edison: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

According to the biography

“Edison: His Life and Inventions” by Frank Lewis Dyer and Thomas Commerford Martin, here’s what he said after an associate commented about multiple attempts to create a new type of storage battery

“Isn’t it a shame that with the tremendous amount of work you have done, you haven’t been able to get any results?” the associate said to Edison.

To which Edison reportedly replied: “Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work.”

This money stuff is hard. If you didn’t meet all your ﬁnancial goals, you just found what didn’t work

As you begin listing what you want to change about your ﬁnances, here are four less-obvious resolutions that can impact your ﬁnancial well-being.

Resolve to face the truth

Let’s return to Edison.

Successful inventors learn from their mistakes. They look at what went wrong. How can you become a better

Issued Jan. 29 to Feb. 4

Commercial alterations

OFFICE: 1314 Walker Road, description, interior renovation of training room area at LUS Training Center; applicant, AQ Studios; contractor, Build Incorporated; $300,000.

OFFICE: 120 Oil Center Drive, description, renovation to an existing ofﬁce building; applicant, Architects Beazley Moliere; contractor, Triad Construction Services; $446,095.

RETAIL: 3225 Louisiana Ave., description, upgrade of Target driveup area to add four spaces, two stop signs with bars, a crosswalk, signage and other work; applicant, Kimley-Horn and Associates; contractor, none listed; $45,000.

AGRICULTURE: 9620 W. Congress St., description, add two grain bins; applicant, Justin Guidry; contractor, none listed; $300,000

RESTAURANT: 405 Albertson Parkway, Broussard, description, convert former Ballroom at Broussard to Loft18; applicant, The Ballroom at Broussard LLC; contractor, Commercial Construction Co.; $350,000.

New commercial

APARTMENTS: 917 Lamar St description, two-story, eight-unit apartment building; applicant Ackal Architects; contractor, DSLD Homes; $2 million.

RESIDENTIAL: 100 Graywood Lane, description, 70 apartment-style condominium-style apartment units with ofﬁce/clubhouse; applicant and contractor, Equity Con-

CRUISE

Continued from page 1E

on track for another strong year in 2025.

“These valued partnerships continue to drive strong demand and promising growth projections for both oceangoing and river cruising from Port NOLA,” Branch said in a prepared statement Future growth?

The presence of cruise ship passengers helps boost the local hospitality industry About 90% of cruise ship passengers in New Orleans are visitors from out of state, with 70% spending a night or two in the city before or after their voyage New Orleans port officials said cruise passengers account for more than 300,000 room nights and more than $125 million in spending annually Baton Rouge has only provided partial numbers for the number of riverboat cruise passengers who visited the city in 2024; however, the figures that were available showed an increase American Cruise Lines said 20,200 passengers stopped by as a result of the company’s 119 cruise dockings. That’s up from 12,122 passengers on the company’s 121 Baton Rouge dockings Laura Cating, a spokesperson for Visit Baton Rouge, said the figures are approximate because some passenger numbers aren’t recorded Viking River Cruises did not provide passenger numbers for Baton Rouge. Demand for U.S. river cruises is high and the industry is projected to post double-digit growth over the next five years, according to a report by Grand View Research, a consulting firm that tracks the industry But droughts and floods

Resolve to bolster financial health

Michelle Singletary THE COLOR OF MONEy

money manager if you don’t look back?

Think hard. What’s holding you back from moving forward ﬁnancially?

Perhaps your shop-till-you-drop spending has its roots in some childhood trauma or drama. Have you accumulated credit card debt trying to erase the memories of not having enough? Or maybe you lived a silver-spoon lifestyle as a child but can’t sustain it now because you don’t have the same resources as your parents?

Unpack the issues that may be keeping you from achieving ﬁnancial freedom. This may mean seeking help from a therapist.

My years of experience directing a large ﬁnancial literacy program have shown me that some people barely make it paycheck to paycheck despite living as frugally as possible. Theirs is not a matter of frivolous overspending; they don’t make enough money to cover the necessities of life. However, I’ve counseled many

BUILDING PERMITS

struction of Monroe; $15.1 million.

INDUSTRIAL: 107 Business Park Drive, description, ofﬁce with associated warehouse for Downhole Chemical Solutions; applicant, Trahan Architecture + Planning; contractor, Triad Construction Services; $1.45 million. SCHOOL: 2645 S. Fieldspan Road, description, storage building for Judice Middle School; applicant and contractor, Bergeron’s Metal Buildings; $39,607.

INDUSTRIAL: 164 Lake Talon Road, Broussard, description, slab formwork; applicant, SafeSource Direct R&D; contractor, Trax Development; $1.9 million

New residential 1318 S. RICHFIELD ROAD: Andries Builders, $604,710.

1506 RUE DES BABINEAUX: South Louisiana Custom Homes, $406,440.

7326 LANDRY ROAD, DUSON: Andries Builders, $312,030.

101 SANCTUARY LANE: Royston Construction Co., $283,680.

134 EDEN RIDGE ST.: DR Horton, $225,450.

225 OAK HEIGHTS DRIVE: DR Horton, $192,150

303 TELLURIDE PASS: Hammerhead Homes, $112,680.

110 GUN RUNNER DRIVE: Manuel Builders, $227,610.

311 GUN RUNNER DRIVE: Manuel Builders, $204,570. 115 FILLMORE WAY: Manuel Builders, $219,420.

121 GRENADINE DRIVE: Manuel

frequently affect Mississippi River cruises, causing delays and changes in itineraries.

Cating said the number of American Cruise Lines dockings in the city is expected to drop further in 2025, due to more competition from riverboat cruise companies. Ofﬁcials from the company visited Baton Rouge last week to explore ways to enhance the riverboat experience, she said.

Not your mama’s cruise ship

A number of factors are helping boost the cruise industry, such as a favorable economy with continued wage growth and low unemployment, experts say Also, while the core cruise traveler had been a baby boomer, younger passengers are trying the experience Royal Caribbean recently said nearly half of its customers are millennials or younger who like the fact they can visit multiple destinations on one trip. Carnival Cruise Line said the number of ﬁrst-time customers has increased 30% from a year earlier

Cruise amenities were once limited to buffets, free drinks, casino gambling and duty-free shopping. But the modern vessels are nearly just as much of an attraction to some passengers as the tropical beaches and resort cities they visit. Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, offers features such as an ice-skating rink, a rock-climbing wall, six waterslides and a production of “The Wizard of Oz.” Private resorts are another amenity cruise companies are offering. Royal Caribbean opened Perfect Day at CocoCay in 2019, a resort that takes up a Bahamian island and has a water park, zip line and what it claims is the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean. Not to be outdone, Carnival will open Celebration Key this

people who have mismanaged their money because they suffer from a sense of entitlement. They eat out — a lot. They feel entitled to a luxury vehicle with a monthly payment near or at $1,000 a month They take vacations at the expense of having a solid emergency fund. Shopping sprees are their preferred choice of entertainment. Face the truth of your past, and you’ll be more likely to ﬁnd ﬁnancial freedom.

Resolve to mend relationships

A lot of ﬁnancial problems aren’t about the money They stem from deep-seated issues that can tear apart families and friends

I’m not suggesting you be nice to your siblings or relatives just so they can bail you out, especially if you’re a poor money manager

However, think about your support network or the lack thereof. Some relationships might be too toxic to ﬁx. However, with family counseling or individual therapy, you might be able to resolve the issues that keep you from having healthy relationships.

Here’s something else to consider

Who’s going to take care of you should you need care in your senior years? If you’re estranged from your

Builders, $195,930.

302 PORCH VIEW DRIVE: Manuel Builders, $192,060.

301 WINTHORPE ROW: Reliance Real Estate Group, $475,000.

317 WHITE PINE DRIVE: DR Horton, $179,010.

314 WHITE PINE DRIVE: DR Horton, $225,090.

312 WHITE PINE DRIVE: DR Horton, $201,600.

229 OAK HEIGHTS DRIVE: DR Horton, $215,100.

122 PRESERVATION DRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: AM Design, $430,860.

104 YELLOW FIN LANE, YOUNGSVILLE: DSLD, $109,980.

106 YELLOW FIN LANE, YOUNGSVILLE: DSLD, $101,340.

105 BRUGES LANE, YOUNGSVILLE: Gulf South Builders, $490,000.

202 GRIMMON ROAD, YOUNGSVILLE: DSLD, $119,460.

112 FOUNTAIN MEADOW DRIVE, BROUSSARD: Jay Castille Construction, $182,000.

110 FOUNTAIN MEADOW DRIVE, BROUSSARD: Jay Castille Construction, $182,000.

114 BROUSSARD HILL DRIVE, BROUSSARD: DR Horton, $132,803.

111 BROUSSARD HILL DRIVE, BROUSSARD: DR Horton, $118,195.

112 BROUSSARD HILL DRIVE, BROUSSARD: DR Horton, $131,050.

113 BROUSSARD HILL DRIVE, BROUSSARD: DR Horton, $145,754.

301 RUE DES VIEUX CHENES, BROUSSARD: Manuel Builders, no value listed.

summer, with dual racing waterslides, more than 30 eateries and an 11,000-square-foot inﬁnity pool.

These attractions give cruise companies the ability to give passengers a better experience and one that can compete with trips to theme parks, said Matt Boss, a JPMorgan analyst who follows the leisure and retail industries. All of these things are increasing the number of first-time cruise passengers. And once people take a cruise, they’re inclined to take another one: Cruise Lines International Association said 81% of millennials who took a cruise are planning another one.

“The inclusivity of a cruise holiday provides more value than travelers would ﬁnd if they tried to recreate the same experience elsewhere — an appeal that spans generations,” said Kenny Robinson, a spokesperson for the Cruise Lines International Association.

Cruise Lines International Association projected some 34.7 million people took a cruise in 2024, up from 31.7 million in 2023. That number is expected to grow to 37.1 million this year

AAA said 18.2 million Americans took ocean cruises in 2024, a 7.7% increase from 2023. The forecast for 2025 shows a slight decline in the growth rate.

AAA noted that cruise demand growth has outstripped hotel growth over the past two years.

“What we’re witnessing in the cruise industry is nothing short of amazing, but it’s no surprise,” Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel Barber said cruise vacations offer something for a wide range of passengers, and since most of the trip is already paid for, travelers don’t have to worry about expenses.

Email Timothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.

adult children or other relatives, who will help you if you need longterm care?

When I talk to seniors, many seem less afraid of dying than of living so long that they’ll eventually need assistance with basic activities, such as preparing meals, bathing and dressing.

According to Genworth Financial’s most recent cost-of-care survey, the national annual median cost of a private room in a skillednursing home was $116,800, while a semiprivate room went for $104,000. The price of an assistedliving facility was $64,200, and a home health aide was $75,500. Given such costs, most longterm-care services are provided through unpaid labor, namely family members and friends, according to the National Institute on Aging.

One frequent and frustrating complaint I often hear from caregivers is that they can’t get their adult siblings to help care for a parent.

Why?

Unresolved hurt feelings. Unaddressed sibling rivalry A legacy of family dysfunction.

Even if you have money to pay for your care, you’ll need someone to monitor the care you’re getting and perhaps manage your ﬁnances.

OUTPOSTS

Continued from page 1E

Since the pandemic, the state’s economic boosters have hoped that the rise of remote work would bring a torrent of tech workers, attracted by the warmer weather and Louisiana’s vibrant culture. A ﬂood of software engineers never arrived (and many companies have started to call back remote workers), but some smaller companies are seeing the value of a Louisiana outpost, even if many employees are still based elsewhere.

In addition to Copado, Californiabased video game testing company DAQA announced last year that it is opening a testing facility at The Beach at UNO that it hopes will employ up to 20 people. 360 Insights, a brand-marketing software provider with offices in the United Kingdom and Canada, moved its headquarters from Delaware to New Orleans and is working its way toward hiring 50 Louisianabased employees. Excella, a Virginia-based tech ﬁrm founded by a New Orleans native, opened a local hub in 2022.

None of the firms are making massive investments. The combined payrolls are just a fraction of the workers promised by previous high-proﬁle deals designed to lure out-of-town tech companies to Louisiana. In 2013, then-Gov Bobby Jindal was on hand to celebrate GE Capital’s move to New Orleans and a promise of 300 jobs. Then, in 2017, global IT company DXC Technology negotiated a state incentives package to bring 2,000 workers to Poydras Street in New Orleans. Neither deal panned out, with GE closing down and DXC falling far short of its hiring goals.

Copado, along with Excella and some other ﬁrms, is starting much smaller But it plans to grow

“There’s an opportunity here,” Elliott said. “I’m trying to run dark, get it done and then pop out of the woods so no one will know how we pulled it off.”

That’s music to the ears of economic development groups like Greater New Orleans Inc. and Louisiana Economic Development that hope to boost the state’s more than 20,000 tech jobs.

Data from GNO Inc., the region’s economic development nonproﬁt, shows that the gross regional product for the tech industry in Louisiana rose from $4.3 billion in 2020 to around $4.8 billion in 2024. But that’s far short of tech towns like Austin, Texas, or Boston.

New Orleans didn’t make a 2024 list of the top 50 tech talent markets in the country led by San Francisco, Seattle and New York — and it didn’t earn a mention on a separate list of the country’s top 10 fastest-growing tech hubs.

“When looking at the investments in cities like Boston, New York and San Francisco, New Orleans entrepreneurs receive signiﬁcantly less venture capital,” said Rob Lalka, director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane University “But even compared to other ‘Rise of the Rest’ cities like Nashville, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, and Denver-Boulder there’s still a signiﬁcant gap.

“The data show we still have work to do.”

‘Can’t shake’ New Orleans Elliott and Burton White, the

My best friend has always said: “I don’t know how you do it all.” I know how I didn’t get enough sleep. I worked long into the night, snacking on unhealthy foods to keep my energy up. Or I ran myself ragged, unable to say “No” to various demands on my time. Poor health choices cost you money, either now or later in retirement.

I’m trying to change. I’ve set a regular bedtime. I’m more protective of my time with no excuses necessary I’ve adopted this mantra: “No is a complete sentence.”

Sleep more. Eat better Exercise. Your health can have a signiﬁcant impact on your wealth.

Resolve to be more generous

If you can afford it, prioritize charitable giving in your budget. It may help you realize how much you have.

When you put more focus on helping others less fortunate, it tends to put your wants in perspective.

Gratefulness is life-changing and cost-effective.

Email Michelle Singletary at michelle.singletary@washpost. com.

founder of Excella, a software consulting company, are connected to New Orleans in different ways.

Elliott grew up in San Francisco, but as a kid, he made annual visits to his mother’s hometown.

White, meanwhile, lived in New Orleans full time until he left for college in the late 1980s. After graduation, he moved to Washington, D.C., to launch his software career He always assumed he’d come home, but it wasn’t easy

“If you opened up the classiﬁeds in D.C., there’d be seven pages of tech job ads,” he said “At home, there’d be seven ads total.”

After White founded Excella in 2002, it made even more sense for him to stay on the East Coast, but he maintained ties. He mentored entrepreneurs through the Idea Village, a nonproﬁt startup accelerator, after Hurricane Katrina.

“Like many who leave, I’ve always had a passion for the place,” he said. “I can’t shake it.”

Excella, which has more than 300 employees in about 40 states, works on a wide variety of projects, from helping the federal government detect Medicare fraud to targeting promotional campaigns for hotel chains.

Until recently that work was performed in D.C. Then the pandemic opened up new possibilities.

“Suddenly it didn’t matter where our folks lived,” White said.

Two years ago, Excella established a Louisiana “talent hub” based out of The Shop and The Nieux. Its 13 employees are concentrated in New Orleans, where White said there are advantages.

“It’s an interesting scene steeped in the creativity of a city that has such a rich culture,” he said. “Technology solutions benefit from diverse perspectives.”

Austin Gaspard, leader of Excella’s Louisiana hub, said the company spent tens of thousands of dollars over the last two years sponsoring grassroots organizations and events, including Black Tech NOLA and Agile NOLA.

“We wanted to put Excella in the middle of where all the tech people are,” said Gaspard, who cites the state’s 25% digital media tax credit as key to making the investment worth it. And he said the company isn’t “regionalizing” its salaries, meaning comparable employees get paid the same wherever they live.

“We didn’t come into Louisiana to undercut the market,” he said.

Elliott believes the southeast is primed for industrial growth, which will create more technology jobs in the state and region. The recently announced Meta data center in north Louisiana is a sign of what could be ahead, he said.

“To build something in California requires 84 permits to get permission to think about it,” he said.

“It’s very difﬁcult to do anything.”

But Elliott said there are barriers to attracting tech talent.

“People think it’s a lower cost of living but all of a sudden you get hit with the insurance costs,” said Elliott, who is learning in real time how to build his company’s Louisiana outpost.

“We haven’t figured it out yet, but this is a great place to experiment,” Elliott said. “There’s not a lot of people actually paying attention to what we’re up to, so we can play around and ﬁgure out how we make this work.”

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

Turner Industries branching into new fields

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Turner Industries President and CEO

Stephen Toups is fond of saying things that make what Turner does sound simple

“We dig great holes, hang steel, fabricate pipe and put the pipe into the steel,” Toups said recently “That’s it.”

It’s actually a lot more complicated than that. Turner is one of Louisiana’s largest private companies with more than $3.2 billion in annual revenues and more than 20,000 employees Its various divisions specialize in industrial construction, maintenance, pipe fabrication and large equipment ﬂeet services and service some of the largest multinational corporations in the world.

When Toups took the reins at Turner from his father, Roland Toups, in 2019, the company’s clients were primarily in the energy and petrochemical sectors and were located almost exclusively along the Gulf Coast. In the ﬁve years since, Toups has grown Turner’s footprint to 30 states and branched into new service lines like advanced manufacturing.

In this week’s Talking Business, Toups talks about what’s fueling Turner’s growth, his views on the threat of tariffs and what Louisiana has to do to prepare its workforce for the future.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity Turner has experienced a lot of growth in recent years. What are some of the significant projects you’re involved in?

We’re doing some clean energy projects in the Permian Basin. We are doing carbon capture on the Gulf Coast. We’re doing petrochemical reﬁneries, biofuels, battery storage, next generation hydrogen and ammonia plants. We also made a decision two years ago to get into the LNG business, and now we’re in nine LNG plants We’re also working for Tesla. If they’re processing dead dinosaurs at a plant somewhere, we’re there.

You’re working for Tesla?

Yes. Who’d have thought a few years ago we could make that statement? We’re in Austin in one of their plants. But think about it: Making a Tesla is a manufacturing process involving conveyors, pumps, pipes and big equipment and that is what we’re good at it. It’s all the same thing. The deﬁnition of large industrial facilities is beginning to evolve a little bit Where we were a reﬁnery and petrochemical company before, we are supporting advanced manufacturing now

ness has become much more advanced than it was and it’s what we do so we’re able to move into new places and spaces. You mentioned biofuels and renewables.Turner has really benefitted from the energy transition that Louisiana has been a leader in over the past few years. We have. We are doing it all. We make the racks that hold the giant blades for the wind turbines that generate power in the Atlantic Ocean. We’re in the plants making renewables. By the same token, our bread and butter are the longtime clients who have made us who we are over the past 60 years. My father’s philosophy was always that you pay attention to who brought you to the dance. For Turner that is the oil and gas and petrochemical companies all along the Gulf Coast.

So, are you concerned about efforts to undo investments in these new sectors that have benefitted Louisiana and companies like Turner?

I hear some projects are getting canceled, but it’s too soon to say. I believe we are going to see companies doing projects that makes sense. If it makes sense they’ll do it. In the meantime, we’ve gotten good at managing the peaks and valleys and we will continue to do that.

Are you worried about the impact of tariffs on the energy sector and, therefore,Turner?

I have learned that there are things I can control and things I cannot control. Tariffs are something I cannot control. If someone puts a huge tariff on a particular item, that has got to factor into the conversation of whether I build a plant here or there. Obviously, we would all prefer to let the free market do its thing. But I believe there will be opportunities, as

It’s a mindset change. When you became president in 2019, almost all of Turner’s work was on the Gulf Coast. That’s no longer the case.Why? We’re in 30 states now, including Colorado, Utah, Ohio, Minnesota. I don’t think that is unique to Turner Industries. That’s where

this business is going. There is a migration toward advanced manufacturing and it’s going on all over the country Think about a reﬁnery today: The valves are actuated by ﬁber optics. AI runs the system checklists. Computers drive the whole thing. What is happening is that the manufacturing busi-

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie. riegel@theadvocate.com.

Eagles take aim at Chiefs’ legendary run as big game returns to New Orleans

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES VS. KANSAS CITy CHIEFS • 5:30 P.M. SUNDAy FOX

Love ’em or hate ’em, Chiefs are here to stay

Kansas City’s success probably won’t end any time soon

You can love ’em like you probably did ﬁve years ago.

Or you can hate ’em — like many of you do now

Either way, the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t going away anytime soon.

At least not as long as the guy wearing the No. 15 jersey is still playing.

With Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs’ dynasty will keep growing. And as that dynasty grows, so will the hate.

It’s the way sports work. The more you win, the more you’re despised The Chiefs, darlings of the NFL when they ended a 50-year Super Bowl drought in 2020, have all of a sudden become the bad guy

It’s a plot twist you didn’t see coming, like Hulk Hogan teaming up to form NWO in the mid-90s or LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach in 2010. Forget all the reasons people give you for not liking the Chiefs. You know the ones.

“They get all the calls.”

”I’m tired of them showing Taylor Swift every time her boyfriend makes a play.”

The real reason is simply this.

They win too much.

So much so that they are one win away from becoming the ﬁrst team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls

“We’re starting to get that Tom Brady effect,” said rookie receiver Xavier Worthy Brady, as you probably don’t need to be reminded, won seven Super Bowls (six with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). The more he won, the more folks rooted against him. It didn’t help when scandals like Spygate and Deﬂate Gate came along, only fanning the ﬂames of hatred for Brady and head coach Bill Belichick even more

The Chiefs haven’t had any such misconduct. Well other than accusations of getting plenty of yellow ﬂags thrown in their favor

There are even those who think the NFL ofﬁce is in on making sure the Chiefs win NFL commissioner Roger Goodell poked a little fun at the notion during his annual Super Bowl news conference on Monday

“This sorta reminds me a little bit of the script, right?,” Goodell said. “I write a

script, and I have the script for the entire season.”

Trust me, there is no script. If there was an actual script, a team with a following as large as the Dallas Cowboys who last won a Super Bowl in 1996 — would have at least sniffed another Lombardi by now When you dislike a team, every call that works in that team’s favor feeds into a conspiracy There is data to debunk some of the theories. For instance, Mahomes doesn’t lead the league in drawing roughing-thepasser penalties, although that’s the narrative. He’s actually eighth. On the ﬂip side, the Chiefs led the league this season in holding calls.

“I think a lot of those theories are things that happen in social media and they get a new life,” Goodell said. “I understand that I think it reﬂects a lot of the fans’ passion.”

Of the 17 games the Chiefs won in the regular season and playoffs, 11 were decided

by a touchdown or less.

“I feel like people aren’t counting how we are playing,” Worthy said “With us, we are playing better in big moments when we have to and need to, whether that’s two minutes, four minutes or end-of-the-game ﬁeld goals.”

Here’s the real reason. Good teams find ways to win close games. Bad teams find a way to lose them. It helps when you have a guy like Mahomes, who in eight NFL seasons has worked himself into the GOAT conversation. Mahomes won his first Super Bowl when he was the hero, and he’s won two since then while becoming the villain.

“I don’t even think it’s embracing being the villains,” Mahomes said. “We embrace who we are. We believe we play the game the right way We believe that we play with a lot of heart and a lot of passion for the game. We win football games. If winning football games makes you a villain, then we are going to keep on going out there and doing it.”

Or, you could handle the villain role like tight end Travis Kelce, who pretended to be oblivious to it all.

“People hate the Chiefs?” Kelce asked. “I didn’t know that. I don’t let outside noise fuel me or motivate me.” Kelce’s girlfriend, one of the biggest musical acts in the world, will certainly be shown a time or two during Sunday’s broadcast. And no matter how much screen time Swift gets, it’ll be too much for some. She was shown a total of 55 seconds in last year’s Super Bowl, but if you are a part of anti-Chiefs Kingdom, that was 55 seconds too long.

“I think it just comes with success,” Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker said. “I’m sure fans get tired of the Chiefs always winning. But we’re focused on doing what we can to put a W in the column. If the hate comes, it comes.”

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

These Eagles look a lot like the 2009 Saints

Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman executed team’s makeover

This Philadelphia Eagles team reminds me a lot of the 2009 Saints. The two teams employed similar rosterbuilding strategies and charted similar paths to the Super Bowl.

If you recall, the foundation for the Saints’ Super Bowl run in 2009 was established in 2006, when the Saints lost to the Chicago Bears in the NFC championship game. The next two seasons were spent identifying weaknesses and retooling the roster and coaching staff to put the club over the hump In 2008, the Saints ranked 23rd in total defense, allowing 339.5 yards a game, and were 26th in scoring defense, allowing 24.6 points a game. The poor defense negated the excellence of the Saints’ top-ranked offense.

Payton dedicated the entire 2009 offseason to ﬁxing it.

First, he fired defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs and hired Gregg Williams to replace him. Bill Johnson was hired to coach the defensive line. Two months later, the Saints signed cornerback Jabari Greer, safety Darren Sharper and defensive end Anthony Hargrove in free agency A month after that, they selected defensive back Malcolm Jenkins in the first round the NFL draft, then traded up to take punter Thomas Morstead in Round 4 a day later In four months, the Saints changed their defensive scheme, philosophy and depth chart The overhaul paid immediate dividends. The Saints opened the season with a franchise record 13 consecutive wins and ranked among the league leaders in takeaways with 39. Later that season, they won the club’s first and only Super Bowl title Eagles general manager Howie Roseman executed a very similar makeover in Philadelphia this offseason.

First, he didn’t yield to public pressure and elected to keep Nick Sirianni as head coach. Then, he and Sirianni overhauled

Philadelphia

half of the NFC divisional playoff game

Jan. 19.

the coaching staff, hiring soon-to-beSaints-head-coach Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio to coordinate the offense and defense, respectively Roseman then opened eyes by eschewing conventional wisdom and signing running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract in free agency He then executed a series of lowerproﬁle free agent deals. Former Saints backup linebacker Zack Baun was signed a one-year, $1.6-million deal and moved to inside linebacker Former Jets tackle Mekhi Becton was signed to a one-year, $2.75 million deal and switched to guard. And safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was signed to

a three-year, $22.5 million contract. Roseman then worked his magic in the draft, making eight trades in three days to land his top two targets: cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. It just might have been the best offseason of work by a GM in recent NFL history Barkley led the NFL with 2,005 rushing yards, becoming just the ninth NFL player to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a single season. He’s an MVP candidate and the overwhelming favorite to be named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Baun led the Eagles with ﬁve forced fumbles, 151 tackles and 11 tackles for

loss) and is a ﬁnalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Becton became the Eagles’ starting right guard and has been a force next to star right tackle Lane Johnson, paving the way for Barkley’s breakout season. Mitchell, DeJean and Gardner-Johnson have been ﬁxtures in the overhauled secondary The Eagles pass defense has gone from 31st in the league to No. 1 Mitchell and DeJean are leading candidates for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

“We were talented (in 2023), but not good enough,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said on Monday at the NFL’s Opening Night for the Super Bowl. “The offseason was spent attacking our weaknesses.” And Roseman was the catalyst. He had his hand in every move.

“I feel like we have the best GM in the National Football League,” Lurie said. And like the 2009 Saints, the seeds of the Eagles’ run to Super Bowl LIX were planted in failure. The Eagles’ heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII had a similar hangover effect on Philadelphia as the 2006 NFC championship game had on the Saints in 2007 and 2008. The Eagles lost six of their ﬁnal seven games in 2023, including a humiliating 32-9 loss to Tampa Bay in the wild-card round. The ugly ﬁnish set in motion the series of events that led the Eagles to where they are today

“I know that the season really starts with the front ofﬁce, and that starts with me,” Roseman said Monday

“So, when we have good offseasons, it usually leads to success during the regular season. I think that’s our responsibility and that’s my responsibility, and we’ve seen it. The three best years we’ve probably had as a front ofﬁce have led to three Super Bowls,” Roseman said, referring to 2017, 2022, and now 2024. “There’s some sort of correlation between how we do our job and the opportunity it allows everyone in the organization to do their job well throughout it. It’s inspiring.”

Thanks to Roseman’s shrewd work, the Eagles, like the 2009 Saints, are on the cusp of a Super Bowl title. And like the 2009 Saints, you’d be wise to not count them out.

Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes holds the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers on Feb 11 in Las Vegas. The Chiefs won 25-22.

Rod Walker

Jeff Duncan

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MATT SLOCUM

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, left, runs for a touchdown during the first

against the Los Angeles Rams in Philadelphia on

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GAME INFORMATION

NFC champion (home team): Philadelphia Eagles

AFC champion (road team): Kansas City Chiefs

Venue: Caesars Superdome

Kickoff time: 5:30 p.m. Sunday

Officials: Ron Torbert (referee), Boris Cheek (side judge), Mike Morton (umpire), Max Causey (down judge), Mark Stewart (line judge), Mearl Robinson (field judge), Jonah Monroe (back judge), Kevin Brown (replay official)

Betting line: Chiefs by 1 (as of Thursday)

Over/under: 49 (as of Thursday)

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Regular-season record: 15-2

Playoffs: Def. Houston Texans 23-14; def. Buffalo Bills 32-29

Head coach: Andy Reid

Offensive coordinator: Matt Nagy

Defensive coordinator: Steve Spagnuolo

Super Bowl history: 4-2

(lost to Packers 35-10 in 1967; beat Vikings 23-7 in 1970; beat 49ers 31-20 in 2020; lost to Buccaneers 31-9 in 2021; beat Eagles 38-35 in 2023; beat 49ers 2522 (OT) in 2024)

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Regular-season record: 14-3

Playoffs: Def. Green Bay Packers 22-10; def. L.A. Rams 28-22; def Washington Commanders 55-23

Head coach: Nick Sirianni

Offensive coordinator: Kellen Moore

Defensive coordinator: Vic Fangio

Super Bowl history: 1-3

(lost to Raiders 27-10 in 1981; lost to Patriots 24-21 in 2005; beat Patriots 41-33 in 2018; lost to Chiefs 38-35 in 2023)

BROADCAST/ENTERTAINMENT INFORMATION

TV: Fox

TV broadcast crew: Kevin Burkhardt (play-byplay),Tom Brady (color analysis), Erin Andrews (sideline),Tom Rinaldi (sideline), Mike Pereira (rules analyst)

National radio broadcast crew: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Boomer Esiason (color analyst), James Lofton (sideline); Mark Malone (sideline), Jim Gray (pregame/halftime)

Pregame performers: Jon Batiste (national anthem), Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty (America the Beautiful), Ledisi (Lift Every Voice and Sing)

Halftime show: Kendrick Lamar with SZA

IF YOU GO

Bag policy: Only clear bags allowed, except for small clutch bags that measure 6.5 by 4.5

inches or less. No bags may exceed 12x6x12 inches. Non-clear diaper bags are also prohibited.

Other prohibited items: Outside food and drink, cans, bottles, weapons, fireworks, contraband, fanny packs, backpacks, video cameras cameras with a lens exceeding 6 inches, recording devices, selfie sticks, GoPros, beach balls laser pointers mace, artificial noisemakers, drones whistles. Payments: The Superdome is a cashless facility

Security: Expect increased security measures in the wake of the Bourbon Street attacks on New year’s Day and with the expected visit of President Donald Trump.That includes a hardened perimeter around the Superdome and a larger presence of uniformed officers Mobile surveillance units with target tracing and AI capabilities will provide “proactive enforcement.” There are also increased security measures for Bourbon Street and the French Quarter The NFL reported it hasn’t received any credible threats since Jan. 1

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

The Caesars Superdome is lit in the Super Bowl LIX color scheme in New Orleans on Jan. 28.

Happy homecoming

Super Bowl winner and Chiefs safety Justin Reid returns home

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

When Sharon Reid moved to Dutchtown, there wasn’t much to it.

Cow pastures were “everywhere.” If she needed to go shopping or have her car ﬁxed, she went to Baton Rouge. The high school her kids later attended didn’t exist yet.

“We settled on the area when we found out that the Dutchtown school systems were No. 2 in the state,” Reid said “. Back then, everything was cheaper.”

But, since the Reid family moved in over 30 years ago, the small country town has quickly become a bustling suburb. A Domino’s, a hair salon and a daycare are plotted next to Dutchtown High, where Reid’s three sons went to school. She doesn’t have to leave town for her groceries anymore Like in New Orleans or Baton Rouge, trafﬁc has become an issue.

“I mean, Walmarts are everywhere,” Reid said.

For as many fast food restaurants and corporations now populate the area, Dutchtown has also rapidly become a hotbed for something much more uncommon: NFL players.

Their two sons, Eric and Justin, are part of a pipeline that includes former Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy, current Tennessee Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry and former New York Giants safety Landon Collins.

On Sunday the spotlight will be ﬁxed upon Justin as he tries to win a third Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. And he’ll get the chance to do it in New Orleans, just an hour away from the place and people who helped guide him to this historic moment.

“Justin just happens to be really becoming the icon athlete of our athletic program now,” said Dr Ronnie Harper Eric and Justin’s athletic trainer at Dutchtown

A family legacy Justin followed in the footsteps of one of his older brothers. Ryan Reid — Justin’s older brother — excelled at soccer, earning a scholarship and playing at Maryland and Coastal Carolina. He also played professionally for the New Orleans Jesters in the United Soccer League Soccer was the path Justin was determined to follow until Benny Saia Dutchtown’s football coach, pulled him out of a class his freshman year and convinced him otherwise.

“I told him, ‘Your brother runs out in front of 100,000 people every Saturday night. You’re going to tell me you’re not going to play football?,’” Saia said Eric, the eldest of the three brothers, was a star safety at LSU by the time Justin was in high school. He played for Saia before becoming a first-team All-American se-

lection for the Tigers. The San Francisco 49ers then picked him in the ﬁrst round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

His shadow loomed large as Justin started his own career in the sport.

“Eric was a freak,” Saia said. “Eric was 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and ran a 4.3 40 (yard dash).”

Justin eventually carved his own path, but Harper remembers him developing a bit more slowly than his older brother

“Justin was a not as gifted an athlete as Eric was when he was younger,” Harper said “But Justin really grew into and developed a little bit later than Eric did in his development.

“He would probably laugh at this, but he probably wasn’t as fast he wasn’t as tall, he wasn’t as aggressive as Eric was his junior year. And so therefore, he didn’t get a lot of attention ”

What was always there from the start, however was Justin’s competitiveness. Harper recalls Justin storming into his ofﬁce one time his junior year, upset after a rival athlete he believed he was better than received a scholarship offer from another school.

“There was a point where it was like, ‘Nobody’s looking at me,’ Harper said. “And he was so mad.”

That fuel led Justin to becoming a top-10 player in Louisiana and the No. 8 safety in the nation by the end of his senior year, according to 247Sports. By the time he decided to attend Stanford, Harper remembers Justin having more scholarship offers than Eric did.

Justin’s physicality is what sticks out to Saia today “He would light some people up, and sometimes you tried to pull him back a little bit. ‘Don’t hurt yourself,’” Saia said. “But he was a physical player He was just a really focused kid.”

Work life balance

Eric and Justin weren’t the first members of their family to play football beyond an amateur level.

Sharon was a tight end and defensive end for the Baton Rouge Wildcats in 2005, their ﬁrst season in the Independent Women’s Football League, a now defunct semi-professional league.

“We weren’t very good and we weren’t very big,” Sharon said. “When we played other people, it was like, ‘Okay, these are some very big women.’”

Sharon, who also played in an adult soccer league while the kids grew up, was only on the Wildcats for one season.

“(The boys are) all competitive, and they get it from their Mama,” Sharon said. “Like that drive to win, always wanting to win all the time... (they) can’t take a loss.”

She gave up both sports after finding work as a travel nurse in San Francisco. Her plan was to return to Louisiana to ﬁnd more work that was closer to home, but the pay kept her in the Bay Area.

She was making at least twice as much in San Francisco as she would have made working in Louisiana, as much of those earnings were funnelled back home to support the kids’ athletic endeavors.

“I worked a lot of overtime while I was there,” Sharon said. For 15 years, she’d spend anywhere between one week and three at a time working in California before coming home again.

“I had like two lives because once I got home, I had doctor’s appointments, dinner appointments, going to the kids’ games and just everything (in between),” Sharon said. Her work he lped the boys to participate in whatever sport they wanted to pursue. But in order for them to continue playing what they wanted to play they also had to keep up their end of the bargain in the classroom.

Sharon didn’t want C’s and B’s; she required A’s. It didn’t happen often, but

there were times she wouldn’t let one of her sons play in a game because of his grades.

“The coaches would have a meltdown,” Sharon said with a laugh.

Despite working in the Bay Area for so many years, Sharon never once considered moving her family to California. She wanted her kids to grow up in a place where the people were friendlier and the pace of life was a bit slower

“It’s just concrete everywhere, and that drives me crazy If you have a patch of grass, you could probably cut it with a pair of scissors,” Sharon said. “It wasn’t the right environment that I would want my kids to grow up in.”

A homecoming

The last few months have been a rollercoaster for the Reid family

Eric Sr underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery after experiencing chest pains at the end of last year He returned to the hospital in January after having complications post surgery but has since been released from the hospital.

LSU fans may be familiar Eric Sr He was a three-time All-American and an NCAA champion in the 110 meter hurdles in 1987. His accomplishments earned him a spot in the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame

“He’s still weak (but) he’s doing better,” Sharon said. Justin has also become a new father to a baby girl named Cielle who was born on Jan. 20. Sharon is looking forward to meeting the newborn soon.

After the Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship Game, Sharon said her son left the stadium immediately to be with his newborn child instead of sticking around for the postgame festivities.

“It’s been a lot of things going on at once,” Sharon said.

For the Super Bowl, all of the siblings, their spouses, herself and Eric Sr. plan on going to the game. Eric lives in New Orleans so they’ll meet at his house before departing.

Since retiring from the NFL, Eric is the owner of Black Diamond Car Wash in Prairieville. Ryan is the CEO of the establishment as the brothers also worked in tandem to construct a 110 ft Express Tunnel in 2021.

They’ll be together again on Feb. 9 to cheer on their younger brother as he attempts to accomplish something never seen before in the NFL: Win a third consecutive Super Bowl. And for Justin, it all started an hour down the road in Dutchtown, Louisiana “Three Super Bowl in a row. That’s stuff movies are made out of,” Saia said.

Email Koki Riley at Koki.Riley@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE

PHOTO By DARLENE DENSTORFF

Former Dutchtown High football coach Benny Saia, left, meets with Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid. Saia was Reid’s high football coach at Dutchtown

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CAESARS SUPERDOME NEW ORL EANS

ROSTER

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

FOUR KEYS TO VICTORY

PLUG THE LEAK

If one could find a flaw in the Kansas City defense during the postseason run, it has been its difficulty defending the run. The Houston Texans rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown on the Chiefs, then the Buffalo Bills followed with 147 yards and two scores in the AFC title game. They were able to withstand it because of some forced turnovers and some well-timed blitzes by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, but Philadelphia boasts one of the NFL’s premier rushing attacks — led by Saquon Barkley, who has rushed for a whopping 442 yards and five touchdowns in three playoff games

KEEP HIM UPRIGHT

Protecting QB Patrick Mahomes was a huge problem for the Chiefs throughout much of the season — from Weeks 1-14, opposing defenses brought Mahomes down 35 times, which marked a new career high An injury to left tackle D.J. Humphries brought about a change: Left guard Joe Thuney moved outside, while Mike Caliendo took Thuney’s old spot Humphries has healed but the Chiefs have kept the lineup, and for good reason: In four games with the new offensive line configuration, Mahomes has taken just six sacks That will be important against a talented Eagles front that has 10 sacks in three playoff games

PLAYERS TO WATCH

PATRICK MAHOMES • QB

Duh? The three-time Super Bowl MVP and two-time NFL MVP is one of the most famous athletes on Earth, and even if he retired today he would already be established as an all-time great. The 29-year-old has a 17-3 record in the playoffs, during which he has thrown for 5,557 yards and 43 touchdowns with seven rushing touchdowns to boot.

TRAVIS KELCE • TE Forget the position. Kelce is one of the most prolific playoff pass catchers in NFL history, period. His totals in 24 career playoff games: 174 receptions, 2,039 yards, 20 touchdowns. Those rank 1st, 2nd and 2nd in NFL history, trailing only Jerry Rice (who played in 29 playoff games). Kelce needs three catches to break Rice’s career Super Bowl receptions record (33).

CHRIS JONES • DT

Kansas City has quite a few defenders worth watching, but Jones is the fulcrum. The six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro is a havoc creator wherever he lines up on the defensive line. While Jones’ statistical production was down this year (5 sacks, 9 tackles for loss), he is surely going to be the focus of the Eagles’ offensive game plan.

HEAD COACH

ANDY REID

Reid is gunning for his fourth Super Bowl title in the last six seasons, which would tie him with the legendary Chuck Noll for the second most all time among head coaches. This is the sixth team Reid has guided to the Super Bowl — five with the Kansas City Chiefs, and one (in the 2004 season) with the Philadelphia Eagles. He famously loves cheeseburgers

Chiefs embrace chance at historic three-peat championship

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Win and they’re in the history books.

If the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday in Super Bowl LIX, they will have done something that has never been done before by claiming their third consecutive Super Bowl title. They are already in an exclusive club: Last year, they became the eighth team in NFL history to repeat as champions, but none of the previous seven made it back to make a run at a third straight title.

Depending on the lens through which one views NFL history, this is uncharted territory

The Green Bay Packers won the 1965 NFL championship, the last season before the Super Bowl era, and then followed with victories in Super Bowls I and II. But Kansas City would be the ﬁrst to win three straight Super Bowls.

KANSAS CITY’S PATH TO THE SUPER BOWL

Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins AP PHOTO

KEEP IT CLOSE

Of course the Chiefs would love to win this game in blowout fashion, but if the game does come down to the wire it would be hard to pick against Kansas City Including the playoffs, the Chiefs have played in 19 games this season, and they’ve gone 12-0 in games decided by one score or less Put another way, the Chiefs know how to win the close games

According to Pro Football Reference, quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the NFL this season with five fourth-quarter comebacks, and seven game-winning drives — and he added another in the AFC championship win against Buffalo

FOR OLD TIME’S SAKE

This will be the fifth Super Bowl as teammates for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. When targeting Kelce in their previous Super Bowls together, Mahomes completed 31 of his 37 passes (83.8 %) for 350 yards and two touchdowns with one interception — good for a 112.8 rating In his 12th season, the 35-year-old Kelce has shown signs of slowing down. His 823 yards and three TDs this season were his lowest

end

Kansas

after he scored a touchdown during the second half of a game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 5 in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs defeated the Ravens 27-20.

And it is embracing the pursuit.

“I feel like everyone wants to be pioneers,” safety Justin Reid said “Everyone wants to be the first person or the best person to do anything. We have a chance to be on the Mount Rushmore of football history — not even just football history sports history as one of the greatest sports teams ever.”

He’s not wrong. It has been nearly a quarter century since any team in one of America’s major professional sports leagues has won three straight titles, and the complete list of teams who have done it is short enough to ﬁt in a paragraph

The Los Angeles Lakers were the last to do it, clinching their third straight NBA championship in 2002, following the dynastic Chicago Bulls of the 1990s who did it twice. The Houston Comets won the first four WNBA titles The World Series has been going for 120 years, but only the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics have won three straight. The Montreal Canadiens’ streak was followed immediately by a three-year title run by the New York Islanders, but it has been more than 40 years since an NHL team hoisted its third consecutive Stanley Cup. There is a name for this sort of thing, which has also become part of the story: The Chiefs are going for a Three-Peat.

It’s a catchy title, which NBA Hall of Famer Pat Riley apparently recognized when he trademarked the term after his 1988-89 Lakers won their second straight championship Riley’s Lakers didn’t complete the trifecta, but he has reportedly granted the Chiefs permission to use the term if they make history this Sunday Winning three straight would be the centerpiece on an already impressive Kansas City mantle. They’ve been to seven consecutive AFC championship games This year, they are representing the AFC in the Super Bowl for the ﬁfth time in the last six years, with the lone outlier being the 2021 season, when

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes talks on the sideline with head coach Andy Reid during the second half of an AFC divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans on Jan. 18 in Kansas City, Mo.

they lost to the Bengals in the conference championship game.

The inevitability of their success has, predictably, made them the closest thing the NFL has to a villain. The phrase “Chiefs fatigue” has cropped up in the last few weeks with the idea being that people are tired of seeing the same team in the Super Bowl year-after-year Fan theories abound about the preferential ofﬁciating Kansas City receives to the point the NFL commissioner was asked about it in his press conference this week. Even current Chiefs players are not immune.

“Especially when I was in Baltimore, I couldn’t stand (the Chiefs),” said receiver Hollywood Brown, who joined the team this year Of course, he feels differently now.

Winning one championship is hard enough. Twelve NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl, and four of those teams the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans — have never played in one. Winning two in a row is obviously harder A third

straight requires an extraordinary level of focus — and a lot more.

This has been a topic that has hung over the Chiefs for an entire year Literally the day after last year’s Super Bowl win, coach Andy Reid addressed the concept in a press conference.

“It’s not going to just be easy,” Reid said then. “That’s not how this thing rolls We’ll have changeover on our team, which every team has, so you don’t know what’s there. There’s a whole lot of unexpected, and you got to keep battling through it, have a good offseason and then a good training camp, and then that ball’s shaped kind of funny It’s got to bounce for you in the right direction.

“The thing to do, you don’t really go there when you’re in this thing. You go back to your dark room and the ﬁlm and the draft coming up and the combine, those things, that’s kind of where you go You’re not talking three-peat.”

Kansas City certainly had some good fortune along the way They beat the Baltimore Ravens in the season opener, in part, because Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely’s gametying touchdown catch as time expired was overturned after replay showed the tip of his cleat landing out of bounds as he secured the catch. The Chiefs have played 19 games and won 17 of them, but it was often hard.

But now that they’re here, they (for the most part) don’t have to worry about losing the forest for the trees.

“We know we have an opportunity to do something historic in front of us,” linebacker Drue Tranquill said.

“But at the end of the day, if you focus too much on the historic element of it, you’ll lose focus on the execution of it and you won’t get it done. We obviously know the opportunity that we have, we felt like we’ve earned it, we’ve put ourselves in position to be here. Now we’ve just got to go out and do the thing.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

AP FILE PHOTO By ED ZURGA

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By REED HOFFMANN

City Chiefs tight

Travis Kelce, left, congratulates running back Isiah Pacheco

ROSTER

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

FOUR KEYS TO VICTORY

BULLDOZE BARKLEY

The record for most rushing yards in a Super Bowl was set by former Washington running back Timmy Smith in 1988 with 204 If there’s a back who could break that mark it’s Saquon Barkley — the Eagles’ magnetic running back who cracked 2,000 yards this season Barkley’s presence is the biggest difference from the teams’ previous Super Bowl meeting as the 27-year-old signed with Philadelphia last March The Chiefs should have their hands full.

1

SAQUON BARKLEY • RB

New york Giants co-owner John Mara said last offseason he’d have a “tough time sleeping” if Barkley left the team to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles. We’re guessing he hasn’t gotten much rest since Barkley has had a phenomenal season with the Eagles, rushing for a career-high 2,005 yards – 100 short of Eric Dickerson’s all-time record

ZACK BAUN • LB Saints fans still can’t believe the year that Baun had for the Eagles. After spending four seasons as a backup for New Orleans, the seldom-used linebacker not only emerged as a starter but also finished as a finalist for Defensive Player of the year. Baun racked up 151 tackles, 31/2 sacks and five forced fumbles. He was named as a first-team All-Pro

JALEN HURTS, QB

Hurts’ statistics, on the surface aren’t overly impressive. He threw for under 3,000 yards and his rushing totals weren’t close to a career high. That said, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback comes up big repeatedly, is hard to bring down in short-yardage situations and he had a fantastic game against the Chiefs when these two teams met in the Super Bowl two years ago. The Eagles wouldn’t be here without him

HEAD COACH

NICK SIRIANNI

Sirianni is polarizing for many reasons. He’s loud. He’s brash. He’s flanked by security chief “Big Dom” seemingly at all times. But the coach’s results are indisputable at this point. This year will mark Sirianni’s second Super Bowl appearance in four seasons at the helm. He got to the big game this season in part because of his decision to hire offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in the offseason

PLAYERS TO WATCH PHILADELPHIA’S PATH TO THE SUPER BOWL

PREPARE FOR PRESSURE

The Chiefs have sustained their dynasty in part because of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. No coach arguably schemes up more creative more well-timed blitzes and pressures to fool opposing quarterbacks than the 65-year-old In the playoffs, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has struggled to deal with similar looks. He was sacked seven times by the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round and twice by the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship This postseason, the Chiefs’ pressure rate is a staggering 48.7%.

2

Linebacker Baun found confidence, new home with Eagles

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Zack Baun only blames himself for not becoming an All-Pro with the New Orleans Saints.

As one of the NFL’s unlikeliest stories, after suddenly becoming a Defensive Player of the Year ﬁnalist just one season following his departure from the team that seldomly used him, the Philadelphia Eagles linebacker doesn’t view it as an organizational failure as so many others do.

Baun said he has no “ill will” toward the franchise and still highly regards the city of New Orleans. He seems to accept that he played under 30% of the snaps in his four years with the Saints, that his role changed from year to year, that he was buried on the depth chart with difference-making talent the whole time.

“I think when I was here, I didn’t know what I needed,” Baun said.

GET TO MAHOMES

The last — and only — time Patrick Mahones lost a Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback saw constant pressure in his face from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Though the Chiefs have overhauled their offensive line since then the unit still has several question marks Kansas City recently moved guard Joe Thuney to left tackle Will Philadelphia be able to exploit that switch at all? Something to keep an eye on during the big game.

MAKE YOUR KICKS

Every point matters. And the Eagles will need kicker Jake Elliott, who is just 1 of 8 on kicks of at least 50 yards. That’s a stunning regression for the 30-year-old after going 26 of 37 from that mark over his first seven years. His regular-season percentage of 77.8% was also a career low On the big stage, the eight-year veteran will have to make every opportunity count. One missed kick, and Philadelphia’s magic season could be in jeopardy Matthew Paras

Apparently neither did the Saints. When the Eagles line up for Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Caesars Superdome, they’ll do so with Baun wearing a green dot on his helmet and communicating the defense’s play calls on the same turf where he was often relegated to the sideline

For years, the Eagles — in the Big Game for the second time in three seasons — have become annual contenders because of their ability to recognize and collect talent.

This season’s acquisition of Baun only underscores that approach Of course, even the Eagles initially signed Baun to be an outside linebacker and core special-teamer his main positions in New Orleans — until new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio felt the 28-year-old would be better off at inside linebacker based on the brief tape available.

Fangio’s instincts were right. This year, Baun’s breakout campaign included 151 tackles, ﬁve forced fumbles, 31/2 sacks and an interception. The 2020 third-rounder was named ﬁrst-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl.

Baun’s ascension puts the Saints in an awkward spot Of the ﬁve Defensive Player of the Year ﬁnalists this year, two — Baun and Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson previously played for the Saints. Both walked out the door, only to immediately thrive elsewhere.

Hendrickson, at least, had a career year with New Orleans before joining the Bengals. His 131/2 sacks in 2020 showed that he was capable of being one of the league’s pass rushers.

But Baun?

“Well, look, it’s not something you like, that’s for sure,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said “But I understand the circumstances behind it. We tried to sign Zack Baun, but he was looking for an opportunity to get more playing time.

“And under the last system, that wasn’t going to be as likely.” Loomis did not disclose what the Saints offered Baun before he signed with the Eagles in March.

But New Orleans signed Willie Gay Jr. to one-year, $3 million contract to be their third linebacker in 2024,

while the Eagles lured Baun away with a one-year, $3.5 million deal.

But the reality was that Baun was ready for a new home. As Loomis alluded to, Baun was unlikely to crack the Saints’ lineup over Demario Davis and Pete Werner even though Baun was more productive this year than both of them. And the Eagles wasted little time in reaching out to the linebacker, agreeing to terms on the opening day of free agency. Baun said he was ﬂattered by the Eagles’ quick interest.

“Five minutes into free agency, we’re calling him and trying to convince him to sign,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said. “He was someone we had really targeted and we felt really good about.

“Did we know he was going to be ﬁrst-team All-Pro? Certainly not, but he’s got all the tools in the body, he’s got all these athletic tools, he’s got all the intangibles that you look for.”

Baun was also intrigued by playing for Fangio — a respected defensive mind who had a history of getting the most out of players. Baun spoke with Andrew Van Ginkel, who had become the prototype for a Fangio-inﬂuenced glowup. After one year under the coordinator in Miami, Van Ginkel enjoyed a career season before signing a two-year, $20 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

out a role in Philly after primarily being a backup to begin his career

“You could go one of two ways,” Baun said. “You can bet on yourself and sign a one- or two-year deal and say, ‘I’m going to continue and try to play linebacker,’ or you can say, ‘I’m going to be a special-teamer.’ We both bet on ourselves to play linebacker It’s just not losing faith in yourself and just betting on yourself through it all.”

Baun said his situation with the Saints helped him become patient. But his first four years weren’t easy He told Yahoo Sports that there were days where he’d go home and cry He had lost confidence, frustrated that his career wasn’t unfolding in the manner he or the Saints expected. He felt, he said, that he was getting in his own way

... It’s just not losing faith in yourself and just betting on yourself through it all.”

ZACK BAUN, Eagles linebacker

Van Ginkel shared the ins and outs of Fangio’s coverages and stressed the importance of them, Baun said.

Baun, too, wasn’t too shy to ask for advice. After all, Baun had become used to leaning on other players. In his last year with the Saints, for instance, he borrowed a pass-rushing move he picked up from Kansas City Chiefs edge rusher Josh Uche to sack Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff He also talked with teammate Oren Burks, the former Packers linebacker who has carved

“I had great coaches, it was a great scheme,” Baun said of his time in New Orleans, “but I kind of blame myself in my own way.”

Baun has his confidence now It was built over the course of the season, starting in the summer when he won a starting spot and then solidiﬁed further with an eye-opening, 15-tackle debut in Brazil against the Packers Baun said he became “really comfortable” by Week 5, Philadelphia’s bye week.

To Baun, the Eagles gave him “new life.” He said he’s able to play free, no longer as worried by the mistakes he might make on the ﬁeld

This week, in some ways, has been a reminder of his old life. As he sat at a podium on Super Bowl Opening Night, Baun could see his former neighbors in the stands. He even returned to the Saints’ facility, where he and the Eagles are practicing this week. He chose a different locker this time around. There was no need to stay in the spot where he used to be.

Email Matthew Paras at matt paras@theadvocate.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By RICHARD W RODRIGUEZ

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun, center, celebrates a fumble recovery with teammates after a sack during a game against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 10 in Arlington, Texas.

CAESARS

Hero in his hometown

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

“I’m going to give you something incredible,” said Amite High football coach Zephaniah Powell, when asked about DeVonta Smith. The memory and moment in time speak volumes about Smith, the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner, and his hometown Powell was the new coach when Smith, then a sophomore, exited a second-floor classroom when the bell rang. Smith suddenly dropped to the ﬂoor to do pushups.

“I asked him, ‘Why are you doing pushups?’” Powell asked. “He said, ‘Coach, I’m small; I need to get bigger and stronger.”’ Smith glanced toward his reﬂection in the long windows in front of them.

“I don’t intentionally look to see myself,” Smith added. “But every time I see my reﬂection in a window, mirror or whatever I stop and do pushups.”

The rest — to date — has truly been history for Smith, the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver who is coming home to Louisiana for Super Bowl LIX. Amite City, the Tangipahoa Parish town where Smith grew up, is 73 miles from the Caesars Superdome. Roots for Smith run deep there and resonate with him. He’s built homes there since being the No. 10 overall pick by the Eagles in the 2021 NFL Draft after a stellar career at Alabama that included national titles and that Heisman.

When Eagles coaches recently told players to close their eyes and visualize a play, Smith told the Eagles’ media his response.

“Back in high school, my senior year the fourth round of the playoffs and we needed a stop basically to go to state (ﬁnals),” Smith said. “The team was driving and was at the 10 (yard line). I stripped the ball out.”

Amite is a country town with a bluecollar vibe with a football passion. Residents work at chemical plants in either the

nearby River Parishes or Baton Rouge.

Some are educators. Others work in agriculture, the natural gas industry or other businesses. It also is the hometown of the previous governor, John Bel Edwards.

No large signs proclaim Smith’s pending return to Louisiana The town mirrors an unassuming work ethic Smith grew up with and now emulates. They hope the 6-foot, 170-pound Smith recovers from a hamstring injury and plays this week.

Plenty of people are rooting for Smith and the Eagles.

“He’s a great kid who always worked hard,” Police Chief Lendrick Francois said of Smith. “He constantly worked and never got into any trouble They started him at wide receiver as a (high school) freshman.

“He was so small

I thought he looked like a toothpick out

there. I thought he would get hurt killed out there. When he started playing with the big boys you could see he belonged.

“I could watch him play football Friday night and then go by the gym Saturday morning, and he’d be working on basketball. Basketball was his ﬁrst love, and he was better at it. But he wasn’t 6-foot-9.”

As Smith explained, this would not be his ﬁrst game in the Superdome. He broke his collarbone as a sophomore in 2014 and did not play when Amite was the Class 3A runner-up. He was one of the star players as a senior in 2016 when Amite was runner-up to Lutcher Smith watched from the sidelines when the Warriors won in 2021.

Because of school renovations, most of the sports memorabilia is not on display

A new sign with a digital message board isn’t online yet to display any congratulations message.

That’s OK, because teachers Jody Crowe and Sabrina Good happily provide details. They gush about teaching Smith his freshman year, sharing a flood of emotions. There is a mural of Smith in his Alabama gear in one room near their classrooms.

“DeVonta had natural, God-given talent, was lined up with God and was on a mission,” said Crowe, Smith’s algebra I teacher “He was the most focused little ninth-grader you could ever have He would come to class and sit at the front of the room. He was a leader on campus by the time he got here

“It’s an exhilarating feeling to sit there and watch one of your babies play on national TV. He’s letting the people see what we saw when he grew up here. Give his mother credit. She raised two ﬁne young men, and I had the privilege to teach both of them.”

Seeing Smith catch the game-winning touchdown for Alabama in the national title

game as a freshman was a seminal moment for many Crowe offers one complaint.

“At Alabama, they started calling him Smitty and I just don’t like that,” she explained. “To us he’s just Tae, Tae-Tae or Tater Tot. Not Smitty.”

Good taught Smith world geography Her daughter was in the same class. Years later, Smith’s Heisman speech prompted a visual aid she employs for Black History month. There is a picture of Smith with the words “WIN LIKE DEVONTA.” The paper-replica of the Heisman Trophy includes a snippet from Smith’s Heisman speech.

“When he won the Heisman Trophy, his speech was about being a little guy,” Good said. “Then, about people saying he could not go far in the league (NFL). He’s proved those naysayers wrong.

“That shows our students today that they can accomplish anything if they put their minds to it. If they’re playing around, not being serious, I tell them Tae never played around like that.”

Smith’s donations help outfit current Amite teams Powell also asks former players who moved on to college/pro levels to donate their time. Along with offering encouragement and advice for the Warriors, Smith stops by during the offseason to run stadium steps for conditioning.

From there, he typically stops by the gym for pickup basketball games with Pierre’s daughter, Jalencia “Jen” Pierre, the star point guard for the Southeastern women’s team. Pierre’s son was Smith’s classmate. Powell’s son Simeon, a sophomore guard at Bossier Parish Community College, is there for pickup games too.

“This is special for the school and community,” Pierre said with a smile. “But I do think he’s a better basketball player.”

“There will be some Amite purple at the Superdome,” Police Chief Francois added. “I know people are trying to get tickets. There will be plenty of watch parties here and throughout the parish too. Everybody’s making plans.”

Email Robin Fambrough at rfambrough@theadvocate.com

WR DeVonta Smith AP PHOTO

Upping the ante on Super Bowl betting

Louisiana-Texas border rest area offers window into sports gambling

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

Before sports gambling was legalized in Louisiana, Jim McIngvale would usually ﬂy to Las Vegas or New Jersey to place his bets. McIngvale, a Houston furniture salesman better known as “Mattress Mack,” estimated he now places 99% of his wagers in Louisiana, driving ﬁve or six times a year to the Vinton Welcome Center on I-10 just across the state line.

“The rest stop is my spot, baby,” McIngvale said. “As long as them alligators stay away from me, I’m good.”

The rest area is a convenient place for McIngvale and other Texas residents to place their wagers because online sports betting has not been legalized in Texas. Some stay in their cars, while others sit in rocking chairs in the lobby that overlooks a large pond. Once, McIngvale even placed a $5 million Super Bowl bet from outside the men’s restroom. Mack decided not to bet on Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans because of the 1.5-point spread between the Chiefs and the Eagles but it’s still an event expected to drive sports gambling across the country

Every year, the Super Bowl is the single largest event for sports gambling. The American Gaming Association, the trade group representing the U.S. casino industry, estimated Americans will legally wager $1.39 billion on Super Bowl LIX.

Joe Maloney, the senior vice president of strategic communications at the AGA, said the Super Bowl attracts more casual and ﬁrst-time bettors.

“You can bet that pun intended the Super Bowl being here in New Orleans is certainly going to pique the interest of our citizens here in Louisiana,” said Chris Hebert, chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. “I’m sure it’s going to increase our numbers.” Louisiana launched legal in-person sports

betting Oct. 7, 2021, and online sports gambling began three months later Since then it has become a lucrative industry

Sports gambling generated $54.5 million in taxes for the state treasury during the 2024 ﬁscal year, one part of the $997.1 million in overall gaming revenue.

Former Louisiana Gaming Control Board

chairman Ronnie Johns said last year it was anticipated sports gambling would bring in $30 million per year for the state budget

“It has really been a boon for our state’s economy,” Hebert said.

Within three years, the majority of the activity has shifted online because people can bet from their phones. Hebert said more than $3 billion in online sports bets were placed during the 2024 ﬁscal year in Louisiana.

“You can go into one of the casinos and go into their sportsbook, and you’re going to see few people actually walking up to the window and placing their bets there,” Johns said. “They’ll sit there in front of the big screen TVs, enjoy the food, enjoy their drinks. But they’re doing it on their mobile devices.”

Though support for online sports gambling has recently gained traction in Texas and Mississippi, they have not legalized it yet, sending people who want to place bets from their phones into Louisiana.

Once, the company that runs LGCB’s geofencing technology asked Johns why there was such a high concentration at the TexasLouisiana border

“Our numbers at this one location are over the charts,” Johns recalled the person saying.

“There’s a beautiful new rest stop,” Johns said.

During the 2024 NFL season, 63,000 sports wagers have been placed from 3,000 accounts at the Vinton Welcome Center, according to data provided by the geofencing company That marked a 38% increase in the number of accounts that gambled from the rest stop compared to the 2023 season.

Mack last visited the rest area in December to place a $2 million wager on Texas football winning the national championship. The Longhorns lost in the semiﬁnals to Ohio State.

“That’s the place right there,” Mack said.

“I’m a frequent ﬂier there.”

Sports gambling is now legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C., and Texas Gov Greg Abbott recently said he has no objection to the state legislature passing online sports betting. But Mack would rather continue to drive to Louisiana.

Two weeks ago, Mack considered placing a $100,000 bet on a trifecta involving the Australian Open, the Washington Commanders and the Kansas City Chiefs. He would have lost.

“I’d be out of control,” Mack said. “It’d be easier to do it, but it would also be more tempting.”

That is one of the potential issues with

sports gambling. There are constant advertisements for sportsbooks and gambling companies, creating concerns about addiction.

Maloney said there are initiatives taking place to combat the problem. The AGA led a public service campaign about responsible betting, and some taxes generated by sports wagering are used on problem gambling services.

In Louisiana, Hebert said online sports bettors can limit the amount they wager and exclude themselves from placing bets.

“That’s something that we certainly have been very serious about,” Hebert said, “particularly since the inception of mobile sports wagering.”

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Coxpowersmajor events at the CaesarsSuperdome andother large venues with unmatchedconnectivity

By Amanda McElfresh amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

Forthe thirdyearinarow,the NFL’sbiggest game of theyearwilltakeplace in astadium poweredbyCox

Last year’s game at AllegiantStadium inLasVegasand2023atStateFarmStadium in Glendale,Arizona were both poweredby Cox. This year,the Kansas City Chiefs will go for theirthirdstraightchampionship, this time againstthe Philadelphia Eagles in theCaesars SuperdomeinNew Orleans, also poweredbyCox

LeighKing, vice presidentofCox Business in Louisiana, said localteams of engineers, techniciansand supportstaff have beneﬁted from theknowledge gained at thoseother Cox-poweredNFL stadiums to preparethe Superdomefor the2025event

“It’sall aboutpreparation andensuring that we have redundancies builtintothe system,” King said.“We do alot of work to ensure theCox network, poweredbyﬁber, is best-in-class everyday.There arejust a fewmorechecksand balances putintoplace when we preparefor alarge-scale event. Fortunately, Coxhas atremendoushistory of providingservice to global events,soour teamsare readyand they understand what needstobedone.

King said thesuccessofthose major events wouldnot be possible withoutCox’s strong relationshipswithvenuesand customers, includingmultipleNFL and collegestadiums, as well as locationslike theLas VegasConventionCenter, whichis oneofCox’s largestcustomers.

“Whenany of thesevenueshostthousands of people foragame, atrade show or any othertypeofevent,it’sa greatopportunity forustoexpandonthose relationships and show that Coxisherefor them in timesof high-bandwidtheventstoensurethatthings

go smoothly,” King said Cox’sinvestmentsintechnology notonlybenefit largevenues, but surroundingresidentsandbusinesses Forexample, King said Coxhas made majorupgradesin NewOrleans in recentyearstooffer multi-gigspeedsand helpkeepcustomers connectedyearround. Coxalso increaseditscapacityatthe Caesars Superdomefrom10 gigsto40gigs,which meansmorehorsepowertoprovide connectivitytoboth fans andstadium staff “Muchofthis work is not necessarily immediately visible, butpeople cantellthedifference on theirdevices,” King said.“The services we deliver to theSuperdome enable them to use thoseseamlessly becauseofthe additional bandwidth.

SC E BI

Cox Business powers the Big Easy

King said security is also akey priority forCox.Through RapidScale,aCox Business cloudsolutions company, customers like theSuperdome andothersreceivedata security mitigationservices to help provide protection from potentialcyberattacks

“Cybersecurity is always atop concern for anyofour business customers,”Kingsaid. “We’re proudtoprovide arobust serviceto help them protecttheir data.All of it starts with best-in-classpeople, from oursales teamstoour engineersand technicians. Ourentiregoalistomakesureour services deliverwhatwepromise,withthe utmost protection possible.” CoxBusinessprovidesinternet, phone, television andmanaged services to businesses of allsizes across theUnited States.Its solutionsinclude high-speed internet,VoIPphonesystems,cloudsolutions cybersecurityservicesand more.Visit www. getcoxbusiness.com formoreinformation

Winner, winner

Who dat going to win Super Bowl LIX Sunday in the Caesars Superdome? Will the Kansas City Chiefs make history with a third straight title, or will the Philadelphia Eagles soar to their second Super Bowl crown? Our staff is here with its predictions:

WILSON ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER

EAGLES 27, CHIEFS 24: The Chiefs can’t keep getting away with this, right? They have won 17 straight one-score games, the longest streak in NFL history including the playoffs That has to end at some point, and it will here in New Orleans. Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ defense will be the difference in this one, preventing Kansas City from becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls.

ROBIN FAMBROUGH STAFF WRITER

EAGLES 28, CHIEFS 24: A tough call to be sure The NFL is quarterback driven and this game has two great ones in stars Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is my difference maker. He keeps defenses honest by running the ball consistently and with big plays.

SCOTT RABALAIS SPORTS COLUMNIST

CHIEFS 30, EAGLES 27: In one of the few predictions I’ve ever gotten right, back in September I picked a Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl on an LSU podcast Not going out on a huge limb I admit, but here we are I also said you can’t pick against the Chiefs, so I’m not going to now. Patrick Mahomes’ krewe always seems to make THE play and will do so again on a thrilling, late gamewinning drive

JIM DERRY STAFF WRITER

EAGLES 32, CHIEFS 29: For the past two years in January and February, I have correctly proclaimed, “Don’t ever bet against god,” in referring to the one and only Patrick Mahomes. But this time, perhaps very foolishly, I am leaving logic behind and putting all my chips on this season’s MVP, Saquon Barkley. If you hear someone after the game mumbling to himself, “Hey dummy, I told you so,” that’ll be me

LUKE JOHNSON STAFF WRITER

CHIEFS 24, EAGLES 23: I can try to talk myself out of picking Kansas City Eagles running back Saquon Barkley might be the best player on the field Sunday, and Kansas City’s run defense has been shaky in the postseason; the Kansas City offense isn’t what it used to be; yadda, yadda yadda. If I’ve learned anything the last few years it’s to doubt the inevitable Chiefs at your own peril

TANYA RAMIREZ SPORTS DESIGNER

EAGLES 30, CHIEFS, 26: I know, I know, betting against the Chiefs is foolish. But something about this Philly squad is different These are not the same Eagles from two years ago, and they’re hellbent on proving that. Jalen Hurts’ passing game was stellar in the NFC championship and I think he’s hungry for more Saquon Barkley will do Saquon Barkley things and give himself the best birthday gift: a Super Bowl victory

JEFF DUNCAN SPORTS COLUMNIST

EAGLES 26, CHIEFS 21: The Eagles are a tough matchup for the Chiefs especially up front. Their offensive line is the best in the league and I look for Kellen Moore to stick to a ground-heavy attack to wear down Kansas City in the second half Saquon Barkley will win the MVP, but the massive Philadelphia front five will be the difference in this one

PATRICK MAGEE SPORTS EDITOR

CHIEFS 35, EAGLES 31: Philadelphia has an outstanding team with a great running back in Saquon Barkley, but I find it hard to pick against the back-to-back reigning champions. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes seems to always make the correct decision to close out games. Considering the Chiefs have won 17 consecutive games decided by one score Mahomes and company will find a way to lift another Lombardi Trophy

ROD WALKER SPORTS COLUMNIST

EAGLES 31, CHIEFS 27: Before the season began, I picked an EaglesRavens matchup, but I should have known Patrick Mahomes would find a way to get the Chiefs back to a third straight Super Bowl. The Chiefs have a chance to make history by becoming the first team to three-peat They’ll have to find a way to stop Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley That’s easier said than done. And yeah, I know picking against Mahomes isn’t wise.

ZACH EWING DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR

EAGLES 27, CHIEFS 19: Picking against Patrick Mahomes and Co makes about as much sense as going 12 years without a Super Bowl in New Orleans But this game should go to whichever team takes a lead The Eagles are great front-runners, and unlike two years ago, they have Saquon Barkley They can salt the game away behind an elite running game and a vicious pass rush.

MATTHEW PARAS STAFF WRITER

CHIEFS 27, EAGLES 24: This could be — and probably will be — a lowerscoring game than the first Super Bowl meeting between these two teams. But I still like the Chiefs by the same margin. The Eagles have the more talented roster and they’ve looked better of late. But I just can’t count out Patrick Mahomes, especially as he has a chance to make history with a three-peat at stake.

JASON YATES DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR CHIEFS 34, EAGLES 31: I might be a degenerate gambler, but I didn’t start betting yesterday I can stomach backing Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid and occasionally being wrong I can’t stomach betting against them in the playoffs and watching my money fly away much like the Eagles will do empty handed from their trip to New Orleans It will be hard, but the Chiefs make history in the Big Easy

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New Orleans Super Bowl history

BY ZACH EWING | Staff writer

Fake field goal attempts in Super Bowl history, a run by Ravens kicker Justin Tucker in Super Bowl XLVII.He was tackled 1 yard short of a first down.

MVPs in Super Bowl XII, Cowboys defensive linemen Randy White and Harvey Martin. It’s the only Super Bowl with multiple MVPs.

Super Bowls hosted at Tulane Stadium before the Superdome.The last pro game ever played there was Super Bowl IX

Super Bowl titles for Steelers coach Chuck Noll, who won his first one in New Orleans in Super Bowl IX The only coach with more is Bill Belichick, who also won his first in New Orleans in Super Bowl XXXVI. (Andy Reid goes for his fourth this year.)

yard line the 49ers reached at the end of Super Bowl XLVII, trailing 34-29. The drive stalled there, with three straight Colin Kaepernick incompletions, all intended for Michael Crabtree.

Days before Super Bowl XXXI the Boston Globe reported Patriots coach Bill Parcells was leaving for the Jets. The Patriots lost the game 35-21 to the Packers.

Rushing yards for the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, on 11 carries. The Bears’ Monsters of the Midway forced no gain or negative yardage on five of those

Hours after Super Bowl VI that WWL aired the game on tape delay in New Orleans. It was the last Super Bowl subject to the NFL’s local blackout rules.

Different parts of the Super Bowl IV halftime show, which included a balloon crash, famous musicians, the Southern marching band, a second line and a Battle of New Orleans re-enactment complete with cannons, horses, a balloon crash and men acting dead on the field.

Fumbles in Super Bowl XII, a record. The Cowboys recovered four of their six, while the Broncos lost all four as part of eight turnovers.

Minutes for U2’s memorable halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVI, which was a patriotic tribute to the victims of 9/11.

Jersey number for the winning quarterback in four New Orleans Super Bowls: Roger Staubach (twice), Terry Bradshaw and Tom Brady.

Consecutive Super Bowl wins for the NFC, a streak that reached fruition with the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI victory over the Patriots. (Overall, the count between AFC/AFL and NFC/NFL is 29-29, including 5-5 in New Orleans.)

Points the Rams were favored over the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. New England’s victory was the second-biggest upset in SB history (Jets were 16-point underdogs in Super Bowl III).

Ticket price for a seat at Super Bowl IV, the first in New Orleans Face value of tickets to Sunday’s game are at least $2,000.

Jersey number of three Super Bowl MVPs in New Orleans: Len Dawson, Jim Plunkett and Joe Montana.

Players with two-plus touchdown catches in a Super Bowl, including two in New Orleans: Jerry Rice (who had a record three in Super Bowl XXIV) and the Raiders’ Cliff Branch in Super Bowl XV

Teams that haven’t appeared in a New Orleans Super Bowl. Both the Chiefs and Eagles make their second NOLA appearance Sunday.

Jersey number for Cowboys receiver Lance Alworth, who caught the first touchdown pass of Super Bowl VI. (The only other Hall of Famer who wore No. 19 is Johnny Unitas.)

yard line for Jim Plunkett’s 80-yard touchdown pass to Kenny King for the Raiders in Super Bowl XV the longest Super Bowl play from scrimmage until Antonio Freeman’s 81-yard TD catch in Super Bowl XXXI, also in New Orleans.

Jersey number of Chiefs running back Mike Garrett, who scored the first touchdown in New Orleans Super Bowl history, a 5-yard run on the “65 toss power trap” play made famous by mic’d-up coach Hank Stram.

Days after 9/11 it took the NFL to move Super Bowl XXXVI a week later to accommodate for a full regularseason schedule.It became the first Super Bowl played in February.

Minutes it took for the first points in Super Bowl IX, a safety on a bad snap that gave the Steelers a 2-0 halftime lead.

Seconds it took Tom Brookshier to ask a winding question of Cowboys running back Duane Thomas, the star of Super Bowl VI. The gist of the question was,“Are you really that fast?”Thomas answered in one word: “Evidently.”

Ring size ofWilliam“The Refrigerator” Perry,the 335-yard defensive tackle who scored a rushing touchdown for the Bears in Super Bowl XX.

NFL and AFL owners who voted in 1969 to give New Orleans its first Super Bowl, after a contentious debate between Times-Picayune editor George Healy and Miami mayor Stephen Clark at owners meetings in Palm Springs, California.

Length of the Broncos’ longest pass play in Super Bowl XXIV a firstquarter shovel pass from John Elway to Bobby Humphrey. It was Denver’s only pass of 20-plus yards (the 49ers had seven).

Length of Reggie Phillips’pick-six for the Bears in Super Bowl XX; he’s the only rookie among the 15 pick-sixes in Super Bowl history.

years between Super Bowl victories for the Packers, who won the first two but didn’t have another title until Super Bowl XXXI.

Length, in seconds, of most Super Bowl commercials. The cost has gone from $78,000 in New Orleans’ first time hosting to about $8 million this year

Points the 49ers scored in Super Bowl XLVII after Ravens punter Sam Koch took an intentional safety with 4 seconds left Ted Ginn returned the ensuing kick 31 yards but was tackled at midfield to end the game.

Mike Ditka’s age as a Cowboys tight end when he caught a touchdown in a Super Bowl VI victory; 14 years later, he returned to New Orleans and coached the Bears to a ring

Over/under for Super Bowls VI and IX, tied for the lowest ever Both games stayed under

Delay, in minutes, caused by the Superdome power outage in Super Bowl LXVII.

Net passing yards for the Broncos in Super Bowl XII; QBs Craig Morton and Norris Weese threw for 61 yards, but the Broncos lost 26 yards in sacks.

Length of field goal by Patriots kicker Tony Franklin to give New England a 3-0 lead in Super Bowl XX after just 1:14, the fastest score in Super Bowl history at the time. But the Bears did most of the scoring afterward in a 46-10 rout.

Total points in both Super Bowl XII and XV,which finished with the exact same 27-10 score.(The losing team in the first four Super Bowls at the Superdome finished with exactly 10 points.)

Length of the longest of Jerry Rice’s three touchdown catches in Super Bowl XXIV

Temperature at kickoff for Super Bowl VI at Tulane Stadium, still the coldest Super Bowl on record.

Length of Ron Jaworski touchdown pass for the Eagles in Super Bowl XV that was nullified by illegal motion. Instead of tying the game, Philadelphia punted and trailed 14-0 three plays later

Highest point on the Billboard charts for the Bears’ “Super Bowl Shuffle” song and dance recorded before Super Bowl XX.

Jersey number of 49ers safety Ronnie Lott, who won Super Bowl XXIV here; he’s one of four Niners players to play on all four of their 1980s Super Bowl teams.

The 43rd Sugar Bowl, and the national title was won by Pitt and running back Tony Dorsett on Jan. 1 1977.A year later he returned to the Superdome for a one-of-a-kind double, winning the Super Bowl in the same stadium as a Cowboys rookie.

Combined return yardage on his record three interceptions by Raiders linebacker Rod Martin in Super Bowl XV

Length of Butch Johnson’s diving, tumbling touchdown catch from Roger Staubach that put the Cowboys up 20-3 in Super Bowl XII.

Points scored by the Bears in Super Bowl XX, in large part thanks to their famous “46” defense.

Length of Ty Law’s pick-six in Super Bowl XXXVI for the Patriots.

Length of Adam Vinatieri’s gamewinning field goal in the same game.

Super Bowl MVPs who have been offensive players, if you include Desmond Howard,who played a few snaps at wide receiver but was the Super Bowl XXXI MVP because of his kick-return touchdown.

Total combined touchdowns in New Orleans Super Bowls (19 rushing 26 passing three defensive, two special teams), including the longest in history a 108-yard kick return by New Orleans native Jacoby Jones for the Ravens in Super Bowl LXVII. Passer rating for Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese, one of the lowest of his career, in Super Bowl VI loss to the Cowboys. Of course, Griese and the Dolphins didn’t lose another game for 20 months.

Jersey number of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis,who played the last game of a Hall of Fame career here in Super Bowl LXVII.

Passing yards forTom Brady on a 53yard drive in 1:21 with no timeouts to set up Adam Vinatieri’s gamewinning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI; Brady had just 92 yards passing before that

Length of touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Andre Rison to open the scoring in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Points scored by the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV, still the most ever.

Length of missed field goal by Vikings kicker Fred Cox in Super Bowl IV That’s the longest miss in Super Bowl history (and was the longest attempt until Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker hit a 57-yarder last year). Cox later invented the Nerf football.

Rushing attempts for the Steelers in their Super Bowl IX victory over the Vikings, still the record.

Seasons completed by

CHIEFS (15-2)

(14-3)

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‘An unforgettable experience’

New Orleans’ first Super Bowl was

historic event

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Landing the city’s ﬁrst-ever Super Bowl

— IV — was a coup for New Orleans.

At the time, the Super Bowl was still considered to be a regional event, split between East Coast and West Coast sites in Miami and Los Angeles. Miami played host to the previous two games and was considered the favorite, but New Orleans won a tight vote of the league’s 26 owners at the NFL meeting in Palm Springs, California, on March 19, 1969.

New Orleans had a trump card in its hand. The city’s Super Bowl Task Force, led by George Healy, the executive editor of the Times-Picayune, invited legendary jazz trumpeter Al Hirt to be part of its contingent. He and composer Hoagy Carmichael entertained owners at a party the night before the vote. Hirt called the successful vote “the happiest moment of my life” and promised owners a free halftime show, adding “I have three loves — my horn, my team (Saints) and my hometown.”

Healy was rebuked by NFL officials for trash-talking and interrupting Miami mayor Steve Clark during his presentation, citing the low attendance at Dolphins games and questioning the city’s interest in pro football.

“If I knew my colleague from New Orleans was going to bring Al Hirt with him, I would have brought Jackie Gleason,” an exasperated Clark said afterward.

NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle said New Orleans was chosen because of the revenue potential of 80,985-seat Tulane Stadium and the league’s desire to return the Super Bowl to an NFL-based host city

Chilly conditions

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. Uncharacteristically cold weather greeted the teams as they arrived on the Monday before the game It was so cold the fountain outside the Chiefs’ downtown hotel, the Fontainebleau, froze during the week of the game.

A scandal arose, as well. Five days before the game, NBC News reported that Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson was among a handful of NFL players tied to a national

gambling ring based in Detroit. Reporters descended on the Fontainebleau to get reaction from Dawson, who acknowledged being a casual acquaintance with a bookie in Detroit, whose address book included his phone number However, he proclaimed his innocence and was exonerated by federal authorities a few days later

A parade of celebrities made their way to New Orleans for the week, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Gene Autry Joey Hetherington, Stan Musial, Walter Cronkite and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin New Orleans was under a tornado warning on the morning of the game, but the weather improved as the day progressed and the temperature was a mild 61 degrees for the 2:30 p.m. kickoff.

An excited crowd packed Tulane Stadium, where groundskeepers squished across the soggy playing ﬁeld and used green-spraypainted pecan shells and hay to combat the damp conditions.

It was also the ﬁrst time the NFL ofﬁcially branded the game as the “Super Bowl” on its posters, programs and tickets. The game was previously billed as the AFL- NFL World Championship Game.

Clever plan

Chiefs head coach Hank Stram employed an ingenious offensive game plan that neutralized the Vikings’ front four He used a short passing game and quick-hitting rushing attack to beat the Vikings to the punch.

SUPER BOWL IV

CHIEFS 23, VIKINGS 7 JAN. 11, 1970 TULANE STADIUM

Kickoff: 2:40 p.m

Attendance: 80,562

Pregame coin toss: Referee John McDonough (AFL)

Favorite: Minnesota by 12

Over/under: 39

Referee: McDonough

National anthem: Trumpeters Al Hirt and Doc

Severinsen (“Pledge of Allegiance” by astronauts)

Winning coach: Hank Stram

MVP: QB Len Dawson, Kansas City (12-for-17, 142 yards, 1 TD)

Winner’s share: $15,000

Average ticket price: $15

Ad rate: $78,000

TV rating: 39.4, 44 million (CBS)

Before the front four could get going, Dawson had unloaded a pitch to speedy running back Mike Garrett, an end-around to Pitts or a short pass in the ﬂat to Taylor

The overwhelmed Vikings never had a chance. The Chiefs scored on four of their ﬁrst ﬁve possessions and were never threatened.

With the Chiefs up 9-0, Stram called for one of his favorite plays: 65 Toss Power Trap. After a fake pitch to the fullback, Dawson handed off to Garrett, who darted

through a gaping hole into the end zone. The score gave the Chiefs a commanding 16-0 halftime lead.

The halftime show was the most extravagant in Super Bowl history

Broadway star Carol Channing and opera soprano Marguerite Piazza, the ﬁrst real celebrity halftime performers, trumpeters Al Hirt and Doc Severinsen and the Southern University marching band led a musical tribute to New Orleans themed “Way Down Yonder.”

The musical performance then yielded to a re-enactment of the Battle of New Orleans, featuring canons, muskets and uniforms, all authentic reproductions.

The show concluded with a promenade of southern belles during a rendition of “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans” from Hirt and bandleader Lionel Hampton and a mini-Mardi Gras parade, featuring the Olympia and Onward brass bands, maskers, ﬂoats and inﬂatable characters.

The second half was more of the same.

The Vikings cut the lead to 16-7 on a 4-yard touchdown run by Dave Osborne, but the Chiefs answered with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Dawson to Taylor to thwart any comeback hopes and seal the game. Dawson completed 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Kansas City’s defense recorded three interceptions and two fumble recoveries while limiting Minnesota to 67 rushing yards. The Vikings, who gained 222 yards rushing in the NFL championship game against Cleveland, managed just 67 yards on the ground against Kansas City The crowd of 80,562 set a Super Bowl record, as did the game’s gross receipts of $3,817,872.69. An estimated 60 million television viewers watched the CBS broadcast. The game made history for another reason: Stram was wired for sound during the game, becoming the first coach to ever be mic’d up for a Super Bowl. The video of the excitable and loquacious Stram pacing the sideline – “Just keep matriculating the ball down the field, boys!” remains an NFL Films classic. New Orleans’ first Super Bowl was historic for another reason. Super Bowl IV was the last game played before the National Football League and American Football League merged. In the next day’s editions of the TimesPicayune sports editor Jack Wardlaw celebrated New Orleans’ first Super Bowl as “one of the most unforgettable experiences ever in this city with an already colorful and eventful history.”

‘Doomsday’ afternoon at Tulane Stadium

Remembering Super Bowl VI, when Dallas dominated Miami

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

By the time Super Bowl VI arrived in New Orleans, the event was gaining prestige as an event of national importance.

The matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins was an attractive one. The Dallas Cowboys were not yet known as America’s Team when they arrived in New Orleans for Super Bowl VI. Instead, they were widely viewed as the team that couldn’t win the big one.

A slick, computerized organization of superior athletes coached by the innovative Tom Landry the Cowboys won more regular-season games than any NFL team from 1966 to 1971. Postseason success, though, had eluded them. In the big games, they always fell short, often as the favorite.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, were the upand-coming surprise team. They were playing in their ﬁrst-ever Super Bowl under second-year head coach Don Shula and made it to the Super Bowl by upsetting the Chiefs and routing the Colts.

Super turnout

Tens of thousands of fans poured into the city in the days leading up to the game. With hotels booked solid across New Orleans, some visitors were forced to book rooms as far away as Hattiesburg and Pascagoula, Mississippi. Others found boarding on a ship docked at a Mississippi River wharf.

An estimated 800 private airplanes ﬂew in and out of Lakefront Airport during the week. Additionally, 25 passenger seaplanes landed along the West Bank of the Mississippi River.

Celebrities ﬂocked to town for the week of parties and promotional appearances among them Danny Thomas, Frank Gifford and Kyle Rote The Old Absinthe House continued to be the place to see and be seen in the French Quarter

A heavyweight championship boxing match between Joe Frazier and Terry Dan-

iels attracted a sellout crowd to the Rivergate Convention Center on the night before the big game. The ﬁght didn’t last long. Frazier knocked out Daniels in the second round.

Live mascots

To make the Dolphins feel at home during their stay, some creative ofﬁcials at the Fontainebleau imported two live dolphins from Marine Animal Productions in Gulfport Mississippi, and kept them in the hotel’s rooftop pool for the week. Miami players and coaches were initially mystiﬁed by the stunt but eventually grew to enjoy the mammals’ presence and took turns being photographed throughout the week feeding Jimbo and Tinkerbelle poolside.

One of the main storylines of the week was enigmatic Cowboys running back Duane Thomas, who had been embroiled in a season-long contract dispute that left him bitter and ostracized from teammates and management. On the unofﬁcial media day Thomas sat in the stands at the Saints suburban practice ﬁeld and didn’t answer a single question from reporters after announcing to the pack, “I don’t feel like being bothered right now.”

Thomas’ media silence didn’t diminish the game’s exploding worldwide popularity, however CBS broadcast the game to 212 stations across the U.S. For the ﬁrst time, the live broadcast was available in Canada and beamed via tape delay in England.

Uncharacteristically cold weather greeted the teams on Sunday afternoon for the 2:50 p.m. kickoff The thermostat read 39 degrees, but the windy conditions dropped the wind chill to 24, causing fans to wear fur coats in the crowd and concession vendors to don ski masks. Reporters in the press box wrapped their shoes in newspapers in a crude — and futile — attempt to keep warm But at least the astroturf ﬁeld, which had been installed the previous offseason, was dry

While the Super Bowl had started to gain popularity, the crowd of 80,591 at Tulane Stadium was still ﬁlled with locals. Fans ﬂooded the surrounding Uptown neighborhood, and the nuns at nearby Ursuline Academy made a fortune by parking cars in the school’s lots.

The pregame show featured a military theme in recognition of the Vietnam War. The Tyler (Texas) Junior College marching band performed Dixieland tunes as the Apache Belles marched in unison. The Army, Navy,

SUPER BOWL VI

COWBOYS 24, DOLPHINS 3

JAN. 16, 1972 TULANE STADIUM

Kickoff: 1:35 p.m

Attendance: 81,203

Favorite: Dallas by 6

Over/under: 34

National anthem: U.S. Air Force Academy

Chorale

Pregame coin toss: Referee Jim Tunney

Winning coach: Tom Landry

MVP: QB Roger Staubach, Dallas (12-for-19, 119 yards, 2 TDs)

Other standouts: RB Duane Thomas, Dallas (19-95 yards, 1 TD); RB Walt Garrison, Dallas (14-74 yards)

Winner’s share: $15,000

Average ticket price: $15

TV rating: 44.2 (CBS)

Ad rate: $86,000

Coast Guard and Marine Corps formed ranks in front of a giant American Flag. Then, as the Air Force Academy choir sang the national anthem, 20,000 balloons were released and a squadron of Air Force F-4 Phantom Jets streaked over the stadium in a ﬂyover One peeled away to symbolize the missing soldiers in the Vietnam War

It was an impressive display of American military might, and a ﬁtting one for a game headlined by Roger Staubach, the Cowboys’ 29-year-old quarterback. A graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, he served four years in the Navy, including a year overseas in the Vietnam War, before joining the Cowboys as a 27-year-old rookie in 1969.

Dominant D

As Super Bowls go, the game itself was not particularly entertaining. The Cowboys dominated so thoroughly they removed any drama from the contest. Miami never threatened. Leading 10-3 at the half, the Cowboys went 71 yards to start the third quarter and scored on a 3-yard run by Thomas. Chuck Howley’s interception of Bob Griese’s pass in the fourth quarter set up Dallas’ final score, a 7-yard pass from Staubach to Mike Ditka, to make it 24-3.

The Cowboys’ famed Doomsday Defense,

led by middle linebacker Lee Roy Jordan and future Hall of Fame tackle Bob Lilly, shut down Csonka and running mate Jim Kiick, holding them to a combined 80 rushing yards on 16 carries. The last play of the ﬁrst quarter epitomized the day for Miami. Lilly and Larry Cole sacked Griese for a 29yard loss.

Miami became the ﬁrst team to not score a touchdown in a Super Bowl. Dallas, meanwhile, churned out Super Bowl records of 23 ﬁrst downs and 252 yards on the ground, led by Thomas, who rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries. Dallas controlled the ball most of the game, running off 69 offensive plays to the Miami 44. Roger the Dodger made a few of his trademark scrambles to spice up the Cowboys’ offensive attack and completed 12 of 19 passes for 119 yards and two TDs The modest numbers still were enough to earn Staubach the game’s MVP Award from the editors of Sport Magazine, in part because they didn’t know if the brooding Thomas would show at their awards ceremony

“It was very simple,” Landry said. “We just wanted to stay in the game during the ﬁrst half and win it in the second. That’s what we planned, and that’s what we did.”

Former CBS broadcaster Tom Brookshier interviewed Thomas in the postgame locker room. A nervous Brookshier, after commenting on his speed, asked the intimidating Thomas if “he really was that fast,” and Thomas infamously replied, “Evidently.” The most exciting thing that happened during the day was the halftime show, which featured a tribute to New Orleans native Louis Armstrong, who died the previous summer at age 69. Legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by trumpeter Al Hirt, sang “Mack the Knife” and became the ﬁrst African-American woman to perform at halftime in Super Bowl history The performance ended with a rousing rendition of “Hello, Dolly” by Carol Channing. The Cowboys’ victory snapped NFC’s three-game losing streak in Super Bowl play and helped heal the wounds from frustrating losses in the ﬁve previous postseasons.

“We just got tired of losing,” Lilly said. The NFL would hear more from the Dolphins in years to come. They would go on to win 32 of 34 games and back-to-back Super Bowls over the next two seasons.

THE TIMES-PICAyUNE ARCHIVE

Aerial view of Tulane Stadium during Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970.

The rise of the Steel Curtain

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

The Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty was born in New Orleans at Super Bowl IX

The game featured two franchises headed in opposite directions

The Minnesota Vikings were playing in their third Super Bowl in six seasons. Having supplanted the Green Bay Packers as the dominant force in the NFC Central, the Vikings had won six division titles the previous seven years under coach Bud Grant. They were an experienced, veteran club that had been there and done that.

Their opponent: the ascendant Pittsburgh Steelers, who were playing in their ﬁrst-ever Super Bowl for popular owner Art Rooney

The Steelers had long been considered the NFL’s lovable losers, having won just two division titles and made three playoff appearances in their four decades of existence

Things changed, though, after the club hired Chuck Noll as head coach in 1969 and drafted Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw and Southern University safety Mel Blount in the 1970 NFL Draft. They added six more future Hall of Famers Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster to the mix four years later

That nucleus led a homegrown turnaround that saw the Steelers post double-digit wins and advance to the playoffs in 1972 and 1973. They entered Super Bowl IX hungry, loose and brimming with conﬁdence.

Steely confidence

The Steelers’ breakthrough came in the 1974 AFC championship game, when they dominated the rival Oakland Raiders 24-13 to advance to the Super Bowl. Afterward, Noll established the mindset for his team and staff at Super Bowl IX.

Noll had been an assistant coach on the Baltimore Colts staff that lost Super Bowl III and thought that team played tight in the upset loss to the New York Jets. So he wanted his Steelers team to be loose and relaxed in New Orleans. Noll did not impose a curfew and gave players Monday off after the team fulﬁlled its media obligations that morning. Terry Bradshaw took teammates Jerry Mullins and Dave Reavis up to his north Louisiana

Kickoff: 2 p.m

Attendance:

farm. The group ﬂew via private plane to the 400-acre spread in Grand Cane.

The front four of the Steelers’ famed Steel Curtain defense — Joe Green, L.C Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White headed straight to the Desire oyster bar in the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street, where they feasted on oysters, shrimp and gumbo.

“We drank every bottle of Heineken they had,” Green said in the Steelers documentary “Dawn of Dynasty.”

The Vikings also enjoyed themselves. Veteran quarterback Fran Tarkenton treated his offensive linemen to a $3,000 meal at Antoine’s. But visits to the French Quarter were few and far between for the Vikings, who were housed in the Airport Hilton in Kenner Defense dominates

It was a day dominated by defense. Neither team scored for the first 23 minutes. The only score in the first half was a safety In the wet conditions, Tarkenton botched a pitchout deep in his own territory and was forced to dive on the loose ball in the end zone for a safety, the first in Super Bowl history

The 2-0 halftime score marked the first time in Super Bowl history that no offensive points were scored in a half.

The halftime show was a tribute to Duke

Ellington,thelegendarybandleaderwhodied the previous year. Ellington’s son, Mercer led an ensemble that included the Grambling State marching band. Mercer performed on a 50-foot ﬂoat built to resemble a piano keyboard in tribute to his father

But the real highlight was an unscheduled act. Legendary Bourbon Street stripper Sandra Sexton descended from the crowd just before the show, removed her fur coat and streaked down the east sideline while wearing only a bikini. Security guards finally tracked her down and covered her in a long coat but not before photographers captured the scene for posterity

The second half was more of the same. The Steelers got a break to start the second half when kicker Roy Gerela slipped on the wet

artiﬁcial turf and unintentionally squibbed the second half kickoff. Minnesota’s Bill Brown fumbled the bounding ball and Marv Kellum recovered for Pittsburgh at the Vikings’ 30. Franco Harris carried three times in a row, including 9 yards for a touchdown and a 9-0 lead. The Vikings closed the margin to 9-6

CAESARS SUPERDOME NEW ORL EANS K ANSAS CIT y CHIEFS (15-2) VS. PHILADELPHIA E AGLES (14-3)

Cowboys crush Orange Crush

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Jan. 15, 1978, was a milestone day for New Orleans.

After years of work, delays and cost overruns, the Superdome was finally ready to host its first Super Bowl, and local officials were eager to show off their world-class $165 million stadium to a national audience

New Orleans won the bid to host Super Bowl XII at the 1976 owner meetings, beating out stiff competition from Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Pasadena New Orleans won the bid on a fourth ballot after ofﬁcials agreed to guarantee there would be no price-gouging at hotels during the week of the game. Accordingly the matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos was one of the most anticipated events in New Orleans sports history

An estimated 60,000 visitors — roughly double that of the city’s ﬁrst Super Bowl, IV, in 1970 — descended on New Orleans for the weekend of the game, which pitted a pair of 12-2 teams.

The Cowboys were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance in eight seasons and were a certified league powerhouse. They topped the NFL rankings in total offense and total defense. The offense was led by star quarterback Roger Staubach and rookie running back Tony Dorsett, who was named the offensive rookie of the year after rushing for 1,007 yards in his debut season

Their “Doomsday Defense II” led the NFL with 53 sacks and allowed a leaguelow 229.5 yards a game. The unit was formidable at all three levels. All-Pro end Harvey Martin, tackle Randy White and end Ed “Too Tall” Jones led the line. The linebackers featured a pair of Pro Bowler Jethro Pugh and rising star Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson. And the secondary was led by All-Pro safety Cliff Harris. Denver, meanwhile, was making its ﬁrst Super Bowl appearance in its 17-year his-

tory The Broncos were led by the fabled

Orange Crush defense, which featured four Pro Bowlers: end Lyle Alzado, linebackers Randy Gradishar and Tom Jackson and safety Bill Thompson. The Broncos earned their spot in the big game by beating the winners of the three previous Super Bowls in the playoffs (Steelers and Raiders)

As Denver made its Super Bowl run, Bronco-mania swept over the Mile High City Hospitals ﬁtted newborn babies in orange diapers. Local sales of Orange Crush soda increased by 300% from the previous year, and there was a run on orange telephones, automobiles, even orange pizzas.

Broncos fans ﬁlled the French Quarter and downtown hotels, reportedly doubling the number of Cowboys fans in New Orleans for the week of the game. The crush added up to one of the most lucrative weekends in history for the New Orleans hospitality industry Brennan’s restaurant fell just short of its record by serving more than 1,600 breakfasts over the three-day weekend. Pat O’Brien’s reportedly sold nearly 7,000 Hurricanes on the eve of the game.

Local ofﬁcials estimated the three-day weekend amounted to a $30 million eco-

nomic impact on New Orleans, double their preliminary predictions.

The game made history for myriad reasons. It was the ﬁrst time the Super Bowl was played in a domed stadium and the ﬁrst time it was played in prime time on the East Coast, with a 6 p.m Eastern kickoff. And a record number of journalists more than 2,000 — were credentialed to cover the event.

Unfortunately, all the hype, hoopla and anticipation did not produce a great game In fact, it will go down in history as one of the worst Super Bowls ever

Maybe it was the crowd noise or the teams’ unfamiliarity with the Superdome or the special lighting CBS installed for the game; whatever the reason, both teams were uncharacteristically sloppy and mistake prone.

Most of the big mistakes were made by the Broncos, who committed a mind-boggling six turnovers — four interceptions and two fumbles — on their eight possessions in the ﬁrst half.

When they weren’t giving the ball away, the Broncos struggled to move the ball against the aggressive Cowboys defense. Dallas held them to just 44 rushing yards and 28 passing yards in the ﬁrst half.

The Cowboys converted two of the interceptions into scores and took a 13-0 lead into the intermission.

At least the fans in the sold-out Superdome got a chance to see an entertaining halftime show The program was themed “From Paris, France to the Paris of America” and featured performances by New Orleans clarinetist Pete Fountain and trumpeter Al Hirt, accompanied by the Apache Band and Apache Belles drill team from Tyler (Texas) Junior College.

The intermission did little to boost Denver’s performance. After the Broncos’ Jim Turner kicked a 47-yard ﬁeld goal, Cowboys wide receiver Butch Johnson made a sensational diving catch in the end zone on a beautiful 45-yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach to put the Cowboys ahead 20-3. Denver again cut the lead to 10, this time on a 1-yard run by Rob Lytle. But the Cowboys sealed the win when fullback Robert Newhouse threw an option pass to Golden Richards for a 29-yard touchdown with 7:04 remaining. It was Newhouse’s first pass since 1975.

Carethatkeeps youmoving

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CAESARS SUPERDOME NEW ORL EANS K ANSAS CIT y CHIEFS (15-2) VS. PHILADELPHIA E AGLES (14-3)

A triumph for debauchery

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

The Oakland Raiders left their mark on New Orleans at Super Bowl XV

If ever an NFL team was made to enjoy the temptations and trappings of the city’s fabled French Quarter it was the Raiders. Super Bowl XV was played ﬁve days after the Iran hostage crisis ended, and for the ﬁrst time, the NFL used the game’s global platform to make a political statement.

The league honored the 52 American hostages released after 444 days in captivity with a conspicuous tribute: An 80-foot-by30-foot yellow bow was displayed on the side of the Superdome for everyone to see. Behind the $4,500 bow a pair of 180-footlong ribbons draped down the side of the stadium, which was illuminated at night by the Dome’s new exterior lighting system. Fans were given miniature yellow bows as they entered the stadium for the game, and cheerleaders for both the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles carried yellow streamers with their pompoms. All players in the game wore a symbolic yellow stripe on the back of their helmets in a show of support.

This was the ﬁfth Super Bowl here in 12 years, and city ofﬁcials were becoming experts at staging the game.

An estimated 70,000 visitors came to New Orleans for the week, generating a $40 million windfall for the city, said Ed McNeill, the director of the New Orleans Tourist Commission. The city’s 22,000 hotel rooms were sold out and more than 3,000 private aircraft reportedly made their way through the area’s regional airports. “Mardi Gras is a people event,” McNeill said. “Super Bowl is an executive event.”

By this time, the Super Bowl had started to morph into a weeklong corporate affair — built around a three-hour football game The parties were more lavish than ever NBC threw an extravagant dance cruise

for sponsors and team owners on the S.S

President Steamboat. The NFL bash on Friday night at The Rivergate featured the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Count Basie and Doc Severinsen orchestras.

The Eagles were making their ﬁrst postseason appearance since 1960 They’d struggled for decades under dysfunctional management and ownership but had found new life under ﬁfth-year coach Dick Vermeil The Eagles featured a collection of veterans like Woody Peoples (37), Claude Humphrey (36) and Bill Bergey (35), who were in the August of their careers

Despite their relative lack of experience in big games, the Eagles were installed as 3-point favorites on the strength of their 12-4 regular season record, which included a 10-7 win over the Raiders and an authoritative win over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC championship game.

The Raiders were comfortable in the underdog role. They’d earned their way to New Orleans upsetting the Oilers, Browns and Chargers via the wild card route. The Raiders described themselves as “the halfway house of the NFL” and were known as collection of rebels and ragamufﬁns who took their cues from iconoclastic owner Al Davis.

While the rosters were similar, the teams’ approaches to the game differed.

During the week leading up to Super Bowl XV, the Raiders took to New Orleans’ world-renowned nightlife like ﬁsh to water

Meanwhile, their opponents, the Philadelphia Eagles largely behaved themselves under the iron hand of Vermeil, a strict disciplinarian

When the teams landed in New Orleans on the Monday before the game, Vermeil took his team directly to practice. Raiders coach Tom Flores, meanwhile, turned his team loose. He gave them an 11 p.m. curfew starting on Tuesday, but otherwise allowed his team to enjoy New Orleans and all of its temptations.

A day later, Vermeil told reporters, “If I had a player who broke curfew, he’d be home by now.”

By kickoff on Sunday the Raiders’ approach, however, proved to be the winning one. Oakland players were loose and conﬁdent. The Eagles were just the opposite: tight and jittery Some believe they played their Super Bowl two weeks earlier in beating their longtime rivals, the Cowboys.

Whatever the reason, the Eagles stumbled out of the gate On the game’s third play,

Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski tried to force a pass into tight coverage to tight end John Spagnola and Raiders linebacker Rod Martin stepped in front for an interception. Six plays later, Jim Plunkett hit Cliff Branch for a 2-yard touchdown pass. The halftime show was themed a “Mardi Festival” and featured a six-float Mardi Gras-style parade and performances by “Up with People” and Pete Fountain’s HalfFast Walking Club.

In the second half, the Raiders continued their dominance. They extended their lead to 21-3 on Plunkett’s third touchdown pass, a 29-yarder that Branch retreated on and outfought New Orleans native Roynell Young for the wobbly, underthrown ball. From there, the offensive line and powerful running back Mark van Eeghen took over and the Raiders iced the game. Meanwhile, the defense continued to shut down Wilbert Montgomery on the ground, limiting the Eagles star running back to 44 yards on 16 carries and a long run of 8 yards. Martin added a third interception, setting a Super Bowl record that still stands today Plunkett was named the MVP after completing 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns. “This is the greatest moment in my life as a pro football player,” he said.

PRESS FILE PHOTO

Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett throws a pass during Super Bowl XV against the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 25, 1981, in New Orleans.

1985 Chicago dominate Pat and New O

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Super Bowl XX was less

it was a coronation.

The Chicago Bears were dominant team in the NFL 1985 regular season, and they New Orleans as a national A talented cast of marvels the Bears punished opponen to a 17-1 record led by their but-never-duplicated “46” From their iconic head Ditka, to their cocky defensiv nator, Buddy Ryan, to their quarterback, Jim McMahon, were a cocky bunch of who made no apologies and prisoners. There was Wi Refrigerator” Perry, the lovable rookie defensive “Sweetness” Payton, the introspe perstar running back. Steve Michael, the one-time str Gary Fencik, the head-hunt safety Not to mention, Richard Hampton, Wilber Marshall, Otis Wilson, Willie Gault and Jimbo Colvert

The Bears defense led the NFL in sacks, points, ﬁrst downs, total yards and rushing yards allowed They also held opponents to a league-low 47.7 pass completion percentage and were second in third-down percentage and takeaways (51). Cowboys coach Tom Landry called the Bears defense “more dominant than the Steel Curtain (of the Steelers).”

The Bears were good and knew it, so much so that they recorded a musical video entitled “The Super Bowl Shufﬂe” in December, 12 weeks into the regular season

The week leading up to the game was particularly busy in New Orleans. It kicked off with a rousing rally on Martin Luther King Day that Monday at the Louisiana Superdome, where Rev Jesse Jackson and Gov Edwin Edwards spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of 2,100 people

Many attended the rally after participating in a second line parade through the downtown streets, where Edwards led a throng of supporters and civil rights workers, while holding hands and singing “We Shall Overcome”

About100,000visitorspouredintothecityin the days leading up to kickoff, many of them Bears fans from Chicago and the Midwest

The Super Bowl had steadily transformed from a national to an international event. Among the 2,100 journalists credentialed for the game, were representatives of media outlets in Canada, Australia, Japan, Mexico, England, Ireland and Italy More than 5 million Britons tuned in to watch the satellite-relayed NBC telecast of the game. For the first time, highlights of the game were shown on delayed broadcasts in China. Super Bowl tickets were difficult, if not impossible, to find. Scalpers were reportedly commanding as much as $1,000 for the $75 tickets. One local tour company offered to swap the coveted $75 tickets for airplane tickets to remote spots such as the Caribbean. Bears fans, eager to celebrate the team’s first-ever Super Bowl appearance, turned Bourbon Street into a Chicago carnival. Chicago radio station WLS-AM broadcast

Chicago Bears defensive tackle William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry goes over the line to score a touchdown against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX on Jan. 26, 1986, in New Orleans. The Bears beat the Patriots 46-10.

live shows daily from Toney’s Spaghetti House on Bourbon Street, turning the restaurant into a de facto Bears hub for fans and curiosity seekers.

Meanwhile, an army of celebrities made their way to New Orleans to participate in the swanky parties and high-proﬁle promotional events Among them: Larry Hagman and Linda Gray of “Dallas”; Rupert Murdoch, who had a suite at the Windsor Court; and Frank Sinatra, who played a sold-out show at Lakefront Arena on Super Bowl eve. Jimmy Buffett and the Neville Brothers performed at the NFL’s pregame party on Friday at the Rivergate. Among the other luminaries in attendance were Ed Bradley, Don Johnson, Dan Fogelberg, and Ahmad and Phylicia Rashad.

On Thursday night, local businessman Jim Bob Moffett hosted a private party at his St. CharlesAvenuemansionfor theNFLowners. The week leading up to the game was particularly eventful, especially for McMahon First, he was ﬁned by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle after he wore a non-leaguesanctioned “adidas” headband during the ﬁrst round of the playoffs. Rozelle mandated that he no longer wear endorsements or messages on his headband McMahon responded by wearing a “Rozelle” headband to practice. He wore other headbands throughout the week, many of which promoted charities.

Before Wednesday’s practice, McMahon dropped his pants and “mooned” an overhead helicopter TV news camera as it ﬂew over practice. Later that evening, he unwittingly became embroiled in a controversy when WDSU-TV sports director Buddy Diliberto erroneously reported on his newscast that McMahon had called women in New Orleans “sluts” and men in the city “stupid” while dining at a French Quarter eating establishment. Diliberto cited a source who said he overheard McMahon’s comments. By Thursday morning, all hell broke loose. The phone in McMahon’s room was ringing non-stop, a couple of dozen women were protesting outside the Bears’ head-

SUPER BOWL XX BEARS 46, PATRIOTS 10 JAN. 26, 1986 • SUPERDOME Kickoff: 4:20 p.m

Attendance: 73,818

Favorite: Bears by 10

Over/under: 37.5

National anthem: Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis

Halftime entertainment: Beat of the Future, Up with People

Pregame coin toss: Super Bowl MVPs from I-XIX, Bart Starr

Referee: Red Cashion

Winning coach: Mike Ditka

MVP: DE Richard Dent, Chicago (11/2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles)

Winner’s share: $36,000

Average ticket price: $75

Ad rate: $550,000 TV rating: 48.3, 92 million (NBC)

quarters at the Hilton, and the police were rushing to the scene to investigate a bomb threat at the hotel.

WDSU-TV conducted an investigation into Diliberto’s report and could not substantiate the information. The station suspended Diliberto for two weeks and issued an apology for the inaccurate report on its Thursday afternoon newscast.

“I was lucky to get out of New Orleans alive,” McMahon later said.

The controversy didn’t faze the Bears, who took it all in stride. McMahon even had made light of the situation by wearing a “I (heart) N.O.” headband in practice.

The Bears’ opponent, the New England Patriots, were making their first-ever Super Bowl appearance. They upset the Jets, Raiders and Dolphins on the road in the playoffs and were 10-point underdogs against the Bears.

And once Sunday came, the Patriots were simply overwhelmed by the dominant Bears.

The Bears spotted the Patriots the ﬁrst 3 points of the game, then reeled off 44 consecutive points en route to an authoritative

victory. The 36-point margin of was the largest in Super Bowl at the time. dominant were the Bears? Patriots didn’t have a positive gain Craig James ran for 3 yards on the f the first quarter They didn’t pass until 4:55 remained in the They didn’t record a first down remained in the first half. Of the first 16 plays from scrimmage, went for positive yardage. Bears led 23-3 at halftime and held to one first down and minus-19 in the first half. As the teams eld the “Super Bowl Shuffle” the Superdome video boards, w-raiser at a neutral site where personnel are expected to be imhalftime show wasn’t much more It featured four international with People — 600 students and representing 23 nations — who permedley of hits from Bruce SpringLoggins and Stevie Wonder in presentation promoting interunderstanding. The performance, of the Future,” included 144 international costumes and panned by critics. It would be Super Bowl halftime performance People. half was more of the same. The Bears sandwiched a pair of touchdown drives around an interception return TD by Reggie Phillips.

McMahon ran for two TDs and passed for 256 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a wrist injury

The Bears’ offensive highlight was a 1-yard touchdown run by Perry in the third quarter In all, the Bears’ famed 46 defense allowed just 123 yards, forced six turnovers and recorded a Super Bowl-record 7 sacks. The Patriots mustered just 7 rushing yards in 11 carries.

“You stay around this league long enough, sooner or later you’re going to have your rear handed to you,” Patriots head coach Raymond Berry said afterward. “We had it handed to us today.” Richard Dent (95) earned Super Bowl XX MVP honors with 11/2 sacks and two forced fumbles vs. New England. At game’s end, the Bears carried both Ditka and Ryan off the ﬁeld.

“Our defense was unbelievable,” Ditka said. “The Patriots were never in the game. We knew early on we could handle them.” It was the Bears’ ﬁrst championship in 23 years, and fans spilled into the streets and swarmed the French Quarter to celebrate. The championship occurred before the Bulls’ six NBA championships, the White Sox and Cubs’ World Series and three Stanley Cups. Back in Chicago, police arrested 43 people for disorderly conduct during a massive postgame celebration on Rush Street.

“The frustration is over for the fans,” Ditka said. “This is the end of a long time of waiting. It’s a proud city a great city and it has the best fans in the world. They have been shellshocked for a lot of years. They can hold their heads high, and tomorrow they can welcome back the world champions of the National Football League.”

The unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins are widely recognized as the best team in NFL history, but the 1985 Chicago Bears will always be remembered as the most dominant. “We were the best of all time,” safety Dave Duerson said.

CAESARS SUPERDOME

CHIEFS (15-2) VS. PHILADELPHIA E AGLES (14-3)

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PHIL SANDLIN

Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka is carried off the field by Steve McMichael, left, and William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry after the Bears won Super Bowl XX in New Orleans in 1986. Bears Willie Gault (83) and Maury Buford (8) join in on the celebration of their 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots.

A look through the years

Super Bowl I · Los Angeles Jan. 15, 1967

Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10

Super Bowl II · Miami · Jan. 14, 1968

Green Bay 33, Oakland 14

Super Bowl III · Miami · Jan. 12, 1969

N.y. Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7

Super Bowl IV Tulane Stadium Jan. 11, 1970

Kansas City 23, Minnesota 7

Super Bowl V · Miami · Jan 17, 1971

Balitmore Colts 16, Dallas 13

Super Bowl VI · Tulane Stadium · Jan. 16, 1972

Dallas 24, Miami 3

Super Bowl VII · Los Angeles · Jan 14, 1973

Miami 14 Washington 7

Super Bowl VIII · Houston · Jan. 13, 1974

Miami 24 Minnesota 7

Super Bowl IX · Tulane Stadium · Jan. 12, 1975

Pittsburgh 16, Minnesota 6

Super Bowl X · Miami · Jan 18, 1976

Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17

Super Bowl XI · Pasadena, Calif. · Jan 9, 1977

Oakland 32, Minnesota 14

Super Bowl XII · Superdome · Jan 15, 1978

Dallas 27, Denver 10

Super Bowl XIII · Miami · Jan. 21, 1979

Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31

Super Bowl XIV · Pasadena, Calif · Jan. 20,

1980 Pittsburgh 31, L.A Rams 19

Super Bowl XV · Superdome · Jan. 25, 1981

Oakland 27, Philadelphia 10

Super Bowl XVI · Pontiac, Mich · Jan. 24, 1982

San Francisco 26 Cincinnati 21

Super Bowl XVII · Pasadena, Calif. · Jan 23, 1983

Super Bowl XXIII · Miami · Jan 22, 1989

San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16

Super Bowl XXIV · Superdome · Jan. 28, 1990

San Francisco 55, Denver 10

Super Bowl XXV · Tampa, Fla. · Jan 27, 1991

N.y. Giants 20, Buffalo 19

Super Bowl XXVI · Minneapolis · Jan. 26, 1992

Washington 37, Buffalo 24

Super Bowl XXVII · Pasadena, Calif · Jan. 31, 1993 Dallas 52, Buffalo 17

Super Bowl XXVIII · Atlanta · Jan. 30, 1994

Dallas 30, Buffalo 13

Super Bowl XXIX · Miami · Jan. 29, 1995

San Francisco 49 San Diego 26

Super Bowl XXX · Tempe, Ariz · Jan. 28, 1996

Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17

Super Bowl XXXI · Superdome · Jan. 26, 1997

Green Bay 35 New England 21

Super Bowl XXXII · San Diego · Jan 25, 1998

Denver 31, Green Bay 24

Super Bowl XXXIII · Miami · Jan. 31, 1999

Denver 34, Atlanta 19

Super Bowl XXXIV · Atlanta · Jan 30, 2000

St Louis 23, Tennessee 16

Super Bowl XXXV · Tampa, Fla · Jan. 29, 2001

Balitmore Ravens 34, N.y Giants 7

Super Bowl XXXVI · Superdome · Feb 3, 2002

New England 20, St Louis 17

Super Bowl XXXVII · San Diego · Jan. 26, 2003

Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21

Super Bowl XXXVIII · Houston · Feb 1, 2004

New England 32 Carolina 29

Super Bowl XXXIX · Jacksonville, Fla · Feb. 6,

Super Bowl XLV · Arlington, Texas · Feb. 6, 2011

Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 25

Super Bowl XLVI · Indianapolis · Feb 5, 2012 N.y. Giants 21, New England 17

Super Bowl

‘A party on the field’

Montana, Rice starred for 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV victory

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

The San Francisco 49ers had won three of the previous eight Super Bowls and were led by stars Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott and Matt Millen. En route to Super Bowl XXIV, they had steamrolled through the regular season with a league-best 14-2 record and waylaid the Vikings (41-13) and Rams (303) in the playoffs.

Their opponent, the Denver Broncos, were being portrayed as nothing more than a speed bump on the way to the 49ers’ fourth world championship.

Super Bowl XXIV was a record seventh for New Orleans, which earned the bid at the 1985 league meetings in Phoenix.

Super Bowl XXIV was historic for another reason: It was the ﬁrst without Pete Rozelle as commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the league’s lawyer and a former basketball player at Georgetown, was his successor after some of the league’s newer owners had blocked the candidacy of Jim Finks, then the president of the New Orleans Saints.

More than 80,000 visitors poured into New Orleans for the week. Local ofﬁcials projected the event would generate an economic impact of $130 million-$150 million for the local economy Broncos owner Pat Bowlen had rufﬂed local feathers a week earlier when he called New Orleans “a tough place” and not “a very good place for children and families.” In lieu of an apology, Bowlen offered to make a sizable donation to the Audubon Institute, which runs the zoo and Aquarium of the Americas.

A mild kerfufﬂe also brewed between Broncos quarterback John Elway and CBS Sports broadcaster Terry Bradshaw, who claimed that Elway was coddled and spoiled Elway responded, saying Bradshaw was jealous of “my salary” and “all my hair.” Bradshaw shot back, “He can stick it in his ear,” and predicted the halftime score of the game might be 55-3 49ers.

The 49ers were 121/2-point favorites, making the Broncos the biggest underdogs since Super Bowl IV, when the Kansas City Chiefs were 131/2-point underdogs to the Minnesota Vikings. The Broncos had lost their previous three Super Bowls and were not given much chance by league observers to end the drought against the mighty 49ers.

The Broncos tried everything possible to change their fortunes Coach Dan Reeves altered much of the team’s pre-Super Bowl routine from his previous trips to the game. He brought the Broncos to New Orleans a day earlier than normal (Sunday) and separated the players from their wives, headquartering them in a separate hotel all week Elway took an especially superstitious step. He wore his hair long, shoulder-length to his collar

As the week wore on, the Broncos started to grow weary of all the focus on the 49ers and the seeming disrespect they were being shown by reporters. Hearing that the Broncos were such large underdogs, Elway proclaimed, “I guarantee you we’ll beat the spread.”

However, he certainly didn’t anticipate his teammates stoking the ﬁre of the 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

third Super Bowl MVP award, and San Francisco’s

SUPER BOWL XXIV

49ERS 55, BRONCOS 10

JAN. 28, 1990 • SUPERDOME

Kickoff: 4:25 p.m

Attendance: 72,919

Pregame coin toss: Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Art Shell and Willie Wood

Halftime entertainment: Salute to New Orleans, 40th anniversary of the Peanuts, Doug Kershaw, Irma Thomas, Pete Fountain, Southern and ULL bands.

Winning coach: George Seifert

MVP: QB Joe Montana, San Francisco (22-for29, 297 yards, 5 TDs)

Referee: Dick Jorgensen

Favorite: 49ers by 12

Over/under: 48

National anthem: Aaron Neville

Average ticket price: $125

Winner’s share: $36,000

TV rating: 39.0, 73 million (CBS) Ad rate: $700,000

during the week. On the teams’ ﬁrst night in town, a group of players from both teams ended up in the same bar, but the Broncos refused to join the 49ers for a friendly drink.

The pregame ceremony was draped in patriotism. A replica of the State of Liberty was wheeled onto the ﬁeld and a massive American ﬂag was lowered from the roof of the Superdome for the signing of the Star Spangled Banner, which was performed by New Orleans native

Aaron Neville The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 1989 conducted the pregame coin toss.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers greats Bradshaw and Mel Blount were joined by Art Shell and Willie Wood, who performed the duty of ﬂipping the specially minted coin commemorating previous Super Bowl games.

Once the game started it was all 49ers — as expected.

Elway stumbled out of the gate 2 for 11 for 34 yards — and never recovered. He ﬁnished 10 for 26 for 108 yards and two interceptions.

The 49ers scored a touchdown on their opening drive and never looked back. They scored on four their six ﬁrst-half possessions — 10 plays for 66 yards, 10 for 54, 14 for 69 and 5 for 59 to take a 27-3 halftime lead.

The halftime show was a fun but slightly strange tribute to both New Orleans and the Peanuts, the iconic comic strip created by Charles Schultz that was celebrating its 40th anniversary. The show featured a performance by New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas, clarinet legend Pete Fountain and Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw Costumed dancers dressed like Peanuts characters Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Linus, among others, performed alongside the marching bands from Nicholls State, Southern University and UL.

The second half was more of the same for the 49ers Interceptions by line-

backer Michael Walter and strong safety Chet Brooks ended the Broncos’ ﬁrst two second-half possessions and led to 49ers touchdowns.

Montana dissected the Broncos defense seemingly at will, completing 22 of 29 passes for 279 yards and a Super Bowlrecord five touchdowns. His 147.6 passer efficiency rating was a Super Bowl record Three of Montana’s touchdown passes went to Jerry Rice, who finished with seven receptions for 148 yards. Montana left the game with 10:50 left in the fourth quarter to a standing ovation and was named Super Bowl MVP for a record third time.

The Niners amassed 300 more total yards of offense than the Broncos and set an astounding 18 Super Bowl records, including most points (55) and largest margin of victory (45). The dominant performance included decided advantages in ﬁrst downs (28-12), turnovers (0-4) and time of possession (39:31-20:29).

“It was a party on the ﬁeld,” Walter said. “It was easy It was fun.”

For the 49ers, it was their fourth Super Bowl title, tying them with the Pittsburgh Steelers for most in the NFL. It was also the ﬁrst ever by a rookie coach, George Seifert, who took over for retired coach Bill Walsh. The 49ers also became the ﬁrst back-to-back winner since Pittsburgh in 1979-80.

Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com.

CAESARS SUPERDOME NEW ORL EANS K ANSAS CIT y CHIEFS (15-2) VS. PHILADELPHIA E AGLES (14-3)

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By LENNOX MCLENNON

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CAESARS SUPERDOME

Packers back on top

Green Bay ends title drought with win over Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

The Green Bay Packers were due

It had been 29 years since the Packers last won a championship, and Titletown residents were desperate for another title

A ﬁve-year rebuilding plan under general manager Ron Wolf had come to fruition during the 1996 season. The Packers entered their matchup against the New England Patriots as the hottest team in the NFL and the heavy favorites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy They had scored 30 or more points in their previous six games, the second-longest such streak in the Packers’ 78-year history, and were the ﬁrst team since the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins to lead the league in both scoring offense (456) and scoring defense (210).

The Packers’ ﬁrst Super Bowl appearance in nearly three decades stoked the demand for tickets. Brokers on the black market garnered as much as $1,100 for $275 tickets in the upper deck and as much as $5,000 for seats in luxury boxes that normally sold for $350-$500.

The game was a homecoming of sorts for Packers quarterback Brett Favre, the league’s reigning two-time MVP, who was born and raised in Kiln, Mississippi, about an hour’s drive east of New Orleans. He bought 40 tickets for family and friends to attend the game.

Packers fans outnumbered Patriots fans by a 2-to-1 ratio according to observers. Still, New Englanders did their part to show their support. About 10,000 of them attended a pep rally in the French Quarter on the Friday before the game.

The main storyline from Patriots camp centered around head coach Bill Parcells who was attempting to become the first coach with a Super Bowl victory with two different teams. Six days before the Super Bowl, the Boston Globe reported that the Super Bowl would Parcells’ ﬁnal game with the Patriots because of irreconcilable differences with owner Robert Kraft. Super Bowl XXXI was dedicated to for-

STAFF FILE PHOTO By G. ANDREW BOyD

Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, left, gets hugged by Don Beebe, foreground, and other Packers after rushing for a secondquarter TD against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI at the Superdome on Jan. 26, 1997.

mer NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, who died Dec. 6, 1996, at the age of 70. Players for both teams wore special helmet decals with Rozelle’s signature “Pete” printed across the NFL logo. Tributes to Rozelle were also published in the Super Bowl XXXI game program.

Game day arrived without much controversy The week of coverage was relatively quiet and scandal-free.

Mike Dikta’s presence during the pregame coin toss ceremony was of particular interest to New Orleanians. He was one of six Super Bowl-winning coaches who participated in the pregame coin toss. The others were Tom Flores, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, George Seifert and Hank Stram, who performed the toss. Ditka had been linked to the Saints head coaching opening for days and was ofﬁcially introduced by the club at a press conference the next day Luther Vandross sang the national anthem, and Miss Louisiana 1996 Erika Schwarz Wright performed sign language for the national anthem. Once the teams kicked off, the anticipated

SUPER BOWL XXXI

PACKERS 35, PATRIOTS 21 JAN. 26, 1997 • SUPERDOME

Kickoff: 5:25 p.m

Attendance: 72,301

Pregame coin toss: Mike Ditka, Tom Flores, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, George Seifert, Hank Stram

Referee: Gerald Austin

Favorite: Packers by 14

Over/under: 52

National anthem: Luther Vandross

Halftime entertainment: Blues Brothers, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, John Goodman, ZZ Topp, James Brown

Winning coach: Mike Holmgren

MVP: KR Desmond Howard, Green Bay (244

return yards, TD)

Average ticket price: $275

Winner’s share: $48,000-$24,000

Ad rate: $1.2 million

TV rating: 43.3, 87 million (Fox)

shootout did not take long to materialize Favre hit Andre Rison for a 54-yard touchdown pass on the Packers’ second offensive play

The teams traded scores, and the Patriots took a 14-10 lead after one quarter The 24 ﬁrst-quarter points were a Super Bowl record.

The Packers broke open in the second quarter, outscoring the Patriots 17-0 in the period. The key play was an 81-yard touchdown strike from Favre to Antonio Freeman, who beat man-to-man coverage by safety Lawyer Milloy for the score. It was the longest pass play in Super Bowl history at the time, and it put the Packers ahead for good at 17-14 They added a 31-yard ﬁeld goal by Chris Jacke, which was set up by Desmond Howard’s 34-yard punt return, and a 2-yard touchdown run by Favre to make it 27-14 at halftime.

The halftime show was titled “The Blues Brothers Bash” and featured an eclectic ensemble, led by the Blues Brothers actors Dan Akroyd, Jim Belushi and John Goodman — along legendary soul singer James Brown and rock band ZZ Top. Among the songs per-

formed were “Soul Man,” “I Got You (I Feel Good),” “Tush,” “Legs” and “Gimme Some Lovin.’” The show’s ﬁnale featured 107 motorcyclists on Harley-Davidsons whirling around the stage with dancers, riding shotgun.

During the broadcast of the show, the NFL displayed a graphic honoring Laura Patterson, the stuntwoman who was tragically killed the Thursday before the game while rehearsing a bungee jumping exhibition from the roof of the Superdome. Patterson’s picture and name also appeared on the Superdome scoreboard at the conclusion of the halftime show In the second half, the defenses started to gain their footing. Patriots running back Curtis Martin ﬁnally got into the end zone on an 18-yard run with 3:58 left in the quarter to trim the Packers’ lead to 27-21. That set up the biggest play of the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Howard took the kick from Adam Vinatieri at the 1-yard line and burst through the middle of the Patriots’ coverage unit. He bounced off a tackle by Hason Graham at about the Packers’ 30, angled slightly left and was gone. The 99yard touchdown return was a Super Bowl record, and the Packers added an ensuing two-point conversion pass from Favre to Mark Chmura to make it 35-21. More than 3 minutes remained in the third quarter, but that was it. The Patriots never threatened again. Their final five drives resulted in four sacks, three punts, two interceptions and just one first down.

Packers defensive end Reggie White led the onslaught with three sacks, including two on consecutive plays in the third quarter White dominated Patriots right tackle Max Lane, pancaking him eight times in 41 snaps. It was Howard’s ﬁfth return touchdown of the season and gave him a Super Bowlrecord 244 return yards for the game. He also set Super Bowl records for most kickoff return yards (154) and punt return yards (90). In doing so, he became the ﬁrst special teams player to be named Super Bowl’s MVP

A dynasty is born

Against solemn backdrop, Patriots upset Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

“Today a dynasty is born.”

Ricky Proehl’s proclamation to an NFL Films camera during pregame warmups at Super Bowl XXXVI proved prophetic

A dynasty was born on Feb. 3, 2002. But it wasn’t that of Proehl’s St. Louis Rams. Rather it was the start of the New England Patriots’ dynasty, a run that saw the franchise win three Super Bowls in four seasons.

Fittingly for the Patriots, their run began in the most patriotic Super Bowl in NFL history And they did so by recording one of the game’s biggest upsets.

The mighty Rams were known as “The Greatest Show on Turf,” a high-powered, seemingly unstoppable offensive juggernaut. They had scored more than 500 points for a league-record third consecutive season and were led by the league’s MVP, quarterback Kurt Warner, and three-time Offensive Player of the Year, running back Marshall Faulk and four other Pro Bowlers. The Patriots, meanwhile, were given little chance against them in Super Bowl XXXVI A season earlier they went 5-11 and ﬁnished last in the AFC East. Head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady were both in their second seasons and had yet to make their marks on the league. Their roster was a collection of castoffs and no-names that ﬁnished the regular season ranked 19th in offense and 24th in defense

The stage was set for one of the most historic and memorable Super Bowls in league history

The 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington prompted the NFL to postpone a week of games during the regular season, which, in turn, meant moving the Super Bowl back a week, from Jan. 27 to Feb. 3 The schedule change was problematic: The 28,000-person National Automobile Dealers Association Convention was already booked in New Orleans for that weekend. The schedule change created a logistical pretzel for organizers because hotel rooms and venues across town were already booked.

Because of travel concerns in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the game attracted fewer fans than usual. Lakefront Airport received about 500 private aircrafts during the week, compared to almost 700 for Super Bowl XXXVI in 1997. The game was dominated by the specter of the 9/11 attacks.

The league changed almost everything about the game: the logo, the program, pregame and halftime performances, and obviously security protocols. For the ﬁrst time the NFL staged a hard perimeter around the Superdome and used airport-style magnetometers for fan entry SWAT team members patrolled the roofs of buildings around the Superdome. It was the ﬁrst Super Bowl to be designated a National Special Security Event, a designation typically reserved for events such as the Presidential Inauguration and State of the Union addresses.

Mary J. Blige and Marc Anthony sang “America the Beautiful,” and Mariah Carey followed with the national anthem.

Bush became the ﬁrst president, past or present, to participate in a Super Bowl coin toss in person. He was joined by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, the MVP of Super Bowl VI And sure enough, turnovers undid them against the Patriots, who built their

defensive game plan around pressuring Warner and getting physical with Faulk. Every time Faulk came out of the backﬁeld as a potential pass receiver he was hit, chipped or blocked by a Patriots defender On the perimeter, Patriots defenders did likewise with Rams receivers Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt.

The physical approach, which would be illegal in today’s game, disrupted the timing of the Rams’ vaunted passing attack and limited the effectiveness of the offense.

The key play was a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ty Law, who stepped in front of a hurried pass by Warner intended for Bruce in the right ﬂat. Law made the easy pick and raced untouched down the sideline to erase an early 3-0 Rams lead.

Another turnover, a Terrell Buckley fumble recovery set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Brady to David Patten The Pats took a stunning 14-3 lead into halftime.

The halftime show was one of the most memorable in Super Bowl history Using a heart-shaped stage from their Elevation Tour, U2 paid tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by performing three of their biggest hits. As the band performed “Beautiful Day,” “MLK” and “Where the Streets Have No Name,” the names of the deceased victims were projected and scrolled behind the stage and across the interior of the Superdome. Toward the end, lead singer Bono pulled open his black leather jacket to reveal its American flag lining. The performance was widely regarded as one of the greatest halftime shows in Super Bowl history In the second half, the Patriots looked like they had put away the Rams early in

the fourth quarter with a 97-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Tebucky Jones, but the play was nulliﬁed by a defensive holding penalty The Rams eventually scored on the drive. Instead of trailing 24-3, they were suddenly down just 17-10.

SUPER BOWL XXXVI

PATRIOTS 20, RAMS 17 FEB. 3, 2002 • SUPERDOME

Kickoff: 5:40 p.m

Attendance: 72,922

Favorite: Rams by 14

Over/under: 52.5

Pregame coin toss: George H.W. Bush, Roger Staubach

National anthem: Mariah Carey with the Boston Pops

Halftime entertainment: Tribute to 9/11 victims, U2

Referee: Bernie Kukar

Winning coach: Bill Belichick

MVP: QB Tom Brady, New England (16-for-27, 145 yards, 1 TD)

Other standouts: QB Kurt Warner, St.

Eight minutes later, they tied the game on a 26-yard pass to Proehl with 1:30 left. Instead of playing for overtime, New England’s staff trusted Brady to drive the Patriots 53 yards to the Rams’ 30. Kicker Adam Vinatieri had never missed a ﬁeld goal indoors — a perfect 24 for 24 — and was 12 for 13 on game-winning attempts. Vinatieri’s 48-yard kick was a no-doubter and split the uprights as time expired. One potential dynasty had been aborted. Another was born. The Patriots were beaten 427-267 in total yardage and 26-15 in ﬁrst downs but won the turnover battle 3-0. Fittingly, four Patriots split the 19 votes for the MVP award, which went to Brady

Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By AMy SANCETTA New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri, right, and teammate Ken Walters celebrate the

game-winning field goal in the final seconds of Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams in New Orleans on Feb 3, 2002. New England won 20-17.

Lights out for 49ers and Superdome

Despite power outage, WR Jones leads Ravens to close victory

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Sentimentality was the theme of Super Bowl XLVII.

Sentiment helped New Orleans land the game over competition from Miami and Phoenix.

The city’s successful recovery from Hurricane Katrina and $185 million renovation of the Superdome led NFL owners to award the game to the Crescent City at the 2009 league meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“The membership heard from three great cities today and had some terriﬁc alternatives,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. “But I think this is a great statement about the spirit and people of New Orleans and the great relationship the Saints and the NFL have in that community.”

In 2008, the city played host to college football’s national championship game and the NBA All-Star Game, but Super Bowl XLVII was the ﬁrst Super Bowl played in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

The game was dubbed the “Har-Bowl,” as it featured two brothers coaching against each other for the ﬁrst time in Super Bowl history Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh turned the game into a reunion with dozens of family members in attendance

The 49ers were making their ﬁrst Super Bowl appearance in 18 years and trying to win their sixth Super Bowl without a loss. They were installed as 4-point favorites largely on the strength of their dominant defense, which ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed and sent of six of its 11 starters to the Pro Bowl. The defensive line featured Justin Smith and edge rusher Aldon Smith, who set a franchise record with 191/2 sacks that season

The Ravens also featured a great defense, led by two future Hall of Famers, linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed, a Destrehan native. Tackle Haloti Ngata and edge rusher Terrell Suggs anchored a stout defensive line.

SUPER BOWL XLVII

RAVENS 34, 49ERS 31

FEB. 3, 2013 SUPERDOME

Kickoff: 5:31 p.m

Attendance: 71,024

Favorite: 49ers by 4.5

Over/under: 48

Pregame coin toss: Hall of Fame Class of 2013 inductees Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Curley Culp, Warren Sapp, Bill Parcells, Jonathan Ogden and Dave Robinson.

National anthem: Alicia Keys

Halftime entertainment: Beyonce, Destiny’s

Child Referee: Jerome Boger

Winning coach: John Harbaugh

MVP: QB Joe Flacco (22-for-33, 287 yards, 3

TDs)

Average ticket price: $1,210

Winner’s share: $63,000

TV rating: 48.1, 108 million (CBS)

Ad rate: $4 million

And the Ravens special teams, featuring AllPro kicker Justin Tucker, and return man extraordinaire, Jacoby Jones, ranked among the best in the league under John Harbaugh, a former special-teams coordinator

Baltimore had dedicated its season to former owner and founder Art Modell, who died on Sept. 6, 2012, four days before the

With 13:22 remaining in the third quarter, a power outage in the Superdome caused play to be suspended for 34 minutes. The outage was caused by equipment failure near the stadium.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

ﬁrst regular-season game. The Ravens were making their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. They defeated the New York Giants 31-7 in Super Bowl XXXV

The week leading up to the game was relatively uneventful, with the Harbaugh brothers’ storyline dominating the pregame coverage.

American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson and a chorus of students from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, performed “America the Beautiful” as a tribute to the 26 students and staff who were murdered at the school the previous December Alicia Keys sang a non-traditional version of the national anthem.

The recent inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013 participated in the coin toss ceremony: Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Curley Culp, Jonathan Ogden, Bill Parcells, Dave Robinson and Warren Sapp.

Once the game kicked off, it was all Baltimore — at least for the ﬁrst half.

Quarterback Joe Flacco threw touchdown passes of 13, 1 and 56 yards to give the Ravens a shocking 21–3 lead. The 56-yard bomb to New Orleans native Jones came inside the ﬁnal 2 minutes on a third-and-10 play as Jones beat two 49ers defenders deep and outmaneuvered them into the end zone. The 49ers cut the margin to 21-6 at halftime, but the Ravens were clearly in control.

The vaunted 49ers defense had no answer

for Flacco, who completed 13 of 20 passes for 192 and a 135.8 passer rating. Meanwhile, his counterpart, Colin Kaepernick, was 8 of 13 for 139 yards and an interception for a pedestrian 65.9 passer rating.

The halftime show was headlined by Beyoncé and featured a much-anticipated reunion with Destiny’s Child, the group that launched her career They were backed by her all-female band, her back-up dancers, the Saints dance team and an all-female horn section.

Beyoncé took the stage while a speech by Vince Lombardi about “excellence” was played in the background. She performed a medley of her biggest hits, including “Crazy in Love” and “Baby Boy,” then was joined on stage by Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, former members of Destiny’s Child, for a rendition of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” Beyonce closed the show with “Halo.”

The performance was watched by 110 million viewers, according to Nielsen

The crowd was still buzzing from Beyoncé’s spectacular show when Jones took the second-half kickoff, found a seam in the middle of the ﬁeld and burst into the clear at midﬁeld for a 108-yard touchdown return. The stunning play set a Super Bowl record and increased the Ravens’ lead to 28–6. However, three plays into the next drive, with 13:22 remaining the third quarter, a power outage in the Superdome caused play to be suspended for 34 minutes. The outage was caused by equipment failure near the stadium.

During the delay, 49ers CEO Jed York made light of the situation on Twitter posting: “There is no conspiracy I pulled the plug.” The delay seemed to change the game’s momentum. When play resumed, the 49ers scored 17 unanswered third-quarter points to trim the Ravens’ lead to 28–23 and energize their fans in the Dome.

Trailing 34–29 late, the 49ers drove to the Ravens’ 5-yard line in the ﬁnal minutes but couldn’t punch it in. The Ravens then took an intentional safety in the waning moments of the game to preserve the victory Flacco, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, was named MVP He was the fourth consecutive quarterback to win the award, following Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning.

Your Healthy Team Lineup

OchsnerHealthisproudtobetheOfficialMedicalProvideroftheNewOrleansSuperBowl HostCommittee.Whetheryou’realocalorvisitingourvibrantcitytoenjoythegame,the food,ortheculture,ourmedicalteamisheretokeepyoufeelingyourbest.Withover80 yearsofexpertise,we’recommittedtoyourhealthandwellness,soyoucanenjoyevery momentofthegamedayexperience WelcometoNewOrleans–letthegamebegin!

ochsner.org

LOUISIANA

HEARTOF THEMATTER

Managing stress,dietand lifestylechanges cankeepyourheart healthy

BY SHANTELL GOMEZ

Contributing writer

Heart health often becomes agrowing concern as we age. Unlike the outward signs, your heart’scondition can remain hidden —until it speaks up in high blood pressure, cholesterol, chest pain or palpitations.

While family historymay weigh heavily,the good newsisthat there are practical steps to care for this essential organ

The key? Focus on what you can control.

Aheartfelt wake-upcall

For St. Martinville resident and yoga instructor Shari Blem, heart health wasn’tjust aﬂeeting concern —itwas part of her family narrative. Both her grandmother andmother succumbed to an ascending aorta aneurysm, andher sister underwent open-heart surgery for the same condition

In January 2023, Blem received the same diagnosis

“It was ashock,” Blem admits. “But Iquickly realized that while Ican’t change my genetics,Ican change how Irespond to them.”

This awareness led hertofocus on a heart-healthy lifestyle with balance, some minor changes and proactive care. Heart disease is the number onecause of death in the U.S., claimingabout

PHOTO PROVIDEDBySHARI BLEM

daily can reduce the risk of heart disease by 19%.

Embracenutrient-densefoods

Eating to improve heart health doesn’t mean banishing your favorite foods forever.Instead,it’sabout incorporating nutrient-rich options that nourish your cardiovascular system.

What to embrace:

n fresh vegetables

n lean proteins n healthy fats (like walnuts, salmon, and olive oil).

Blem swears by chickpeas,whether blended into hummus, tossed in salads, or added to soups.

What to reduce:

n processed meats n fried foods n excesssodium.

“I used to grab deli meats without thinking,” Blem says. “Now, Ireachfor grilled chicken or plant-based alternatives.”

697,000lives in 2020, according to the Centers forDisease Controland Prevention.

Up to 80% of premature heart disease cases are preventable through lifestyle changes —just 30 minutesofwalking

She also makes abatch of anti-inﬂammatory souptwice aweek, packed with heart-friendly ingredientslike turmeric, garlic, ginger and rosemary to keep things in check.

Asimple fix

Dehydration is an often-overlooked

ä See HEART, page 3

Donated blood linked 2 strangers in surgery

BY JEREMY OLSON

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

MINNEAPOLIS Just days before Quinyana Price rushed to the HCMC emergencyroom in Minneapolis, Betsy Murraywent to Memorial Blood Center in St. Paul to donate twounits of red blood. The two strangers then became linked when, by chance, Price was given Murray’ssametype Oblood. Each year in Minnesota, thousands of suchexchangesoccur, anonymously and unnoted. The Minnesota Star Tribune followed one from start to ﬁnish to reveal how the complexprocess of blood donation and distribution works, and why agenciesare clamoring formore donors.

The Memorial Blood Center’s Minnesota chapter provides 125,000blood productsannually for surgeries and treatments, combining withthe Red Cross to supply the bulk of the state’shospitals. The blood center needs 2,000 donors per week to meet demand, given the number of patients with scheduled procedures or unexpected traumas. Many medicalemergencies could notbeaddressedwithout donated blood. “It’sthe only solution,” saidPhil Losacker,the nonproﬁt’scommunity relations manager

Price, 43, hasreceivedmany transfusions because she has sickle cell disease, whichturns round redblood cells into crescents that painfully restrict bloodﬂow and disrupt bodily functions. But she said she always will remember this transfusionbecause herabnormal blood had clogged and shut downher spleen. Leaving the organ alone could have been fatal, she said, but removing it presented grave risks as well.

Price needed donorblood,alot of it, to swap out her body’ssupply and makesurgery safer “Itbasically saved my life,” she said. “I wouldn’thave been able to have that surgery.” The storybegan Nov.22with Murray,whose O-negative blood is special because it can be transfused into anyone.

ä See BLOOD, page 2

Shari Blem, aSaint Martinville resident, hikes atrail in Zion National Park, showcasing her commitment to staying activeand prioritizing her hearthealth.

THEMINNESOTA STAR PHOTO By ELIZABETH FLORES Mackenzie Karels, acomponent labtech, works Jan. 9on processing the blood donations receivedatthe Memorial Blood Center in St. Paul,Minn.

HEALTH MAKER

SuperBowlcommittee prepares formedical needs

Dr.Jeffrey Kuo says histeam is ready

BY MARGARETDELANEY Staff writer

New Orleans is hosting Super Bowl LIX. As the ofﬁcial medical provider of the Super Bowl, Ochsner Health is coordinating medicalservices and emergency care surrounding the biggame and associated activities.

Dr.Jeffrey Kuo is leading the charge as the chair of the medical subcommittee ofthe New Orleans Super Bowl LIX Host Committee.

Kuo is an ER doctor by trade and serves as the Ochsner system medical director of emergency management and security.Heis responsible for patient ﬂow (the movement of patients inside of hospitals and between hospitals) and practices as an emergency department physician across the hospital system. When did preparations begin for the Super Bowl’smedicalcommittee? How did you startthe process?

The announcement came out that New Orleans would host the Super BowlLIX over four years ago —that launched into years of preparation for the game.I remember having conversations about it when it was announced.

Then, we ramped up our medical operations and medical coordination discussions over ayearago Istarted meeting with the NFL and some private entities that the NFL bringsin for the Super Bowl. What they found pretty quickly —and what Irealized pretty quickly —was

Dr.Jeffrey Kuo, right,the system medicaldirectorofemergency management at

Health and chair of the medical subcommittee forthe NewOrleans

Committee, donates automated external defibrillators (AEDs) from

to NOPD’s emergencymedical responders.

that we’ve really done this before. We’ve provided medical servicesfor events like the College Football Playoffs,anationalchampionship, aSuperBowlin 2013 and big events like Jazz Fest. On top of that, our history with the Saints and with the NFL hasreally factored into our expertiseand leadership, and it will deﬁnitely help us best serve our community during the Super Bowl. What makes the Super Bowl different than aregular season game in terms of medical preparedness? We have about threeand ahalf hours of afootball gamethat we cover medical operations for —wedothis every weekfor the New Or-

leans Saints. The Super Bowl has a week’sworthofeventsleading up to it and surrounding the big game —that’s different thananormal football game. As an ER doctor,the medical aspect of it is the same. We aregoing to do everything we can to provide exceptional healthcare for every patient that we see, whether that’s afootball player,acoach, an NFL member,amember of our community or avisitor coming intoNew Orleans

One of those events, for instance, is theSuper Bowl Experience at theErnest N. Morial Convention Center.Weare going to have thousands and thousands of

people coming through. We know there are theinevitable medical issues that arise or people get injured when they’re running the 40-yard dash at the event,and we’ll be there to help provide medical coverage for that.

We alsohave multiple urgent cares at Ochsner Health that are situated downtown and in thesurrounding areas that are going to be increasing our coverage hours.

We can’tminimizeany one particular event. We have to be ready for anything that comes up at any of these events.

How manymedical professionals are stationed within the stadium?

We arecovering ﬁrst aid stations along theentire

footprint of the Superdome during the game and before the game itself in collaboration with Acadian Ambulance.

For other events, such as Super Bowl Experience, we are working in collaboration with New Orleans EMS to provide health care for those that are in need in that setting along with other large-scale events.

We have upward of 200 health employees, which includes physicians and resident physicians, MPs, nurses, paramedics and more, who are going to be the core team for these events.

On game day,weare stafﬁng numerous ﬁrst aid stations that are going to be inside of the Superdome.

We are strategically placed so that we can respond to medical needs in an efﬁcient manner

I’m also going to be supporting the medical needs of the players and the NFL staff during the game on the ﬁeld. My role with the New Orleans Saints is to be the physician that provides medical coverage for the players in the event of something catastrophic like that. I’ve been doing that for 16 seasons.

When looking at preparedness, we often look to Damar Hamlin with the Buffalo Bills, the player in Cincinnati whose heart stopped beating during afootball game a couple of years ago.

As that situation was happening in Cincinnati, the head of the medical staff for the Saints called me within 3minutes of the incident. He said, “Jeff, do you have any thoughts?” Igave him my perspective on what was going on medically.His next question was, “Any other

thoughts?”

Itold him, “If that happens in New Orleans, we are 100% ready for it.”

That’swhat we do. We prepare and we drill and we train for scenarios like that. What Ilike to say is: “When acrisis occurs, you don’t want to rise up to the occasion. Youwant to fall back on your training.”

How is this astatewide operation?

How do other cities, and state-led organizations help boost themedical staff/committee?

There’snobetter way to provide and prioritize the overall health of our community than to partner with local, regional, state and federal entities to make sure that our city is ready, our community is ready and our region is ready We meet very regularly with the Governor’sOfﬁce of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Louisiana Health Department, the New Orleans Health Department, New Orleans Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, New Orleans EMS and Acadian Ambulance that’sjust to name afew Ithink that ultimately,we all know the importance of being prepared. We all know the importance of representing the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana in the best way possible. We hope that we’re never needed, because we’d love it for everyone to be healthy and nobody to get hurt. But if someone does need us, the community can be rest assured that we are prepared, and we are here to serve all. Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.

Afterchildbirthcameheart failure—and later, anew heart

BY LINDSEY GIARDINO American HeartAssociation News (TNS)

Ebony Smith-Thomas was jugglingthe demands of ahungry 2-month-old boy while keeping her 11-yearold son and twoteenage niecesentertainedwhen her air conditioning went out

The humidity of aSt. Louis evening in May was too much to bear,soshe packed up the kids and drove from the south side of town to her mom’s house on the north. All night, Debbie ThomasSmith heard her daughter

BLOOD

Continued from page1

The 51-year-old has given 6gallons of blood over 53 donations. She admits having aguilty-pleasure love of Lorna Doone cookies that are stocked in the snack basket at her donorsite But mostly,she said, she feels aresponsibility to donate, knowing that only 7% of people carry her needed blood type. Murray is adoctor at the University of Minnesota, specializinginchild behavior and development. She only had paperwork scheduled on donation day,soshe ﬁgured she could give blood at 8a.m. and work from home. Other donors bring laptops or work, but she enjoyed sitting calmly without screens.

“You can do alot of good withouta lotofeffort,”she said. Atube from her right arm fed blood to an apheresis machine, which ﬁltered her red blood cells into two packages. Blood drives at businesses andcommunity events used to fuel the blood center’s collection efforts, but that changed after the COVID-19 pandemic when people didn’t return to their workplaces as much. Appointments by volunteers such as Murray now make up most donations, and they become more important

coughing. Itwas dry,powerful and persistent. In the morning, Debbie toldEbony she needed to see adoctor Debbie feared that Ebony might have walking pneumonia.

Ebony went to an urgent care facility. Tests showed ﬂuid in her lungs,indicating she might have pneumonia. To be sure,she wassentto the emergency room. She underwent another X-ray Then atechnician came in with an ultrasound machine.

“What are you doing with that?” Ebony asked. “I just

over the holidays —when donations decline 30%because people are traveling or busy HCMC is atrauma center and one of the Memorial Blood Center’stop customers. It needswhole,unfiltered blood to treat accident and injury victims as well as condensed units of red blood like Murray’sdonation.

The hospital tries to keep 170 red blood units in stock, with as many as possiblebeing type Obecause they can be given to morepatients than types A, BorAB. Blood types also are sortedaspositive or negative bywhether they contain an Rh protein that can trigger the immune system. PeoplewithRh-negative blood must receive the same kind.

In emergencies, doctors don’talways have timeto check if patients have Oor other bloodtypes,saidJessica Peters, supervisor of HCMC’slaboratory blood bank. “If yougive them a different bloodtype and you arewrong, it can cause problems.”

Supplies of Onegative were getting low on Dec. 14 when Price arrived at HCMC.

She had never undergone surgery but receivednumerous transfusions whenher sickle cell disease triggered painful episodes. Managing the disease is tough, Price said, because she needs to stay fit. But, she said, she can’t“hit it at the gym” like

had achild. I’m not pregnant.”

“It’sfor your heart,”the tech told her

The ultrasound revealed that Ebonyhad peripartum cardiomyopathy,anuncommon form of heart failure. It can happen toward the end of pregnancy or —asinEbony’scase —inthe months following delivery

Heart failure means that the heart is no longer able to efﬁciently pump blood to the rest of the body.A healthy heart pumps blood, known as the ejection fraction, at between 50% and 70%; heart

others without triggering pain.

Price works as adirect support professional who helps people with mental disabilities carry out daily tasks. More strenuous jobs would be risky,triggering episodes that are like alightning storm, she said.

“Can you imagine having pain like that? Pain that shoots across thebody?” she said. “That’sthe best way I can break it down.”

Imaging scans at HCMC discovered that her spleen, the organ that ﬁltersaperson’sblood and helpsfight infections, had swollen and wasbasically dead,Price said.

Dr.Derek Lumbard, ageneral surgeon at HCMC, said the condition is shockingly painful,evenfor sickle cell patients who are used to discomfort.

“This is awhole new level of pain,” he said,and it was hitting Price during her hospital stay

Operating was essential, but Price’sblood disorder also made surgery risky Studies havefound more postoperative infections, heart failure and other problems in sickle-cell patients.

Price needed enough donor blood to dilute the concentration of sickle-shapedcells in her bloodstream to 30%.

Lumbard said it was going to take 10 unitsofred blood.

Murray’s“double red” donation of two red blood

failure occurs if the ejection fraction is 40% or less.

Sometimes people with a higherejection fraction of 50%ormore mayhavea different type of heart failure. Ebony’sejection fraction was 27%.

She spent the next several years undergoing various procedures and taking different medications in hopes of strengthening her heart. Her doctors began discussing thepossibilityofa heart transplant.

In October 2019, ﬁve years after being toldshe was in heart failure, Ebony went

units had been checked and rechecked by the time of Price’stransfusion.

The blood center’sproduct testinglab verifiedthe blood type and ensured it contained no viruses, such as HIV or West Nile.

The blood was weighed to nsure each unit was around 450 milliliters in volume, indicating thatitcontained enough blood cells to be clinically useful, and held in cold storage. Murray’sblood was boxed along withother units HCMC requested on Nov.27.

Lab technicians at HCMC then recorded thetemperature of each unit. If kept cold, red blood cells are usable for 42 days after donation. A technician took avial of Murray’sblood to verify itstype, placing it in atest tube with aliquid that would produce achemicalreaction if the blood wasn’tO.The cloudy mixture in the tube was the desired result. Theblood was labeled correctly

“In all my years, Ihave neverseenitnot be right,”

on the transplant waiting list. She felt like her life was in limbo. Hope lived next to fear of the unknown.

“I wouldtellher,‘You’re stillhere. Youstill have a chance, andyou’re notgoing to give up,’”Debbie said.

On Aug. 18, 2020, Ebony got the call that she’d receive a new heart the next day

The surgery took nearly 23 hours. Once Ebonyregained consciousness, Debbie sensed her daughter was like anew person.

“She was bubbly and happy and clearheaded,” Debbie said.

Peters said. “But you have to have ahealthy level of fear in bloodbanks so youdon’t get complacent.”

Murray’sdonation was moved to aseparate cold storage shelf for blood that had cleared testing and was placed on theleft-hand side It slid gradually to the right over the next few days as new units camein, aquick visual reminder of which units were getting closer to expiration.

The call to HCMC’slab came Dec.18. Pricewould need 10 units of red blood from nine donors, including Murray.Additionaltesting showed thedonated blood lacked antigens that could trigger immune system reactions. It was ideal for Price. She received the transfusion the next day to clear out her sickle cells.

More than four years later,Ebony has been through more health challenges: a blood clot in her new heart that required open-heart surgery,ahysterectomy and a double mastectomy. Yetshe’s come away from it all with an appreciation for being alive. While some people complain about getting older Ebony considers aging a privilege.

“It’sablessingtowakeup every day,” shesaid.“Whether I’m in low spirits, good spirits or sick spirits, I’m glad God putmeona wakeup call every day.”

Price went home to heal. She hasn’tyet returned to work, and she knows she can’trush. She is grateful for her donors, and future donors, given the likelihood that she will need transfusions to combat sicklecell episodes. The disease is inherited and incurable.

“It really doesn’tmatter what youare donating for. Iappreciatewhoever donates,” she said.

While 60%ofthe population is considered able to donate, only 3% does. The limited pipeline resultsinoccasional shortages, but mostly hospitals report having blood when needed.

Murray said she will continue to donate every six months as long as tests indicate that her blood celllevels have bounced back from the prior donation.

“I’ve been doing it for,I can’teven remember how long,” she said.

The surgery days later was tricky,and longer than planned. Price’sspleen had grown so large that it had started to fuse to the abdominal wall. Butthe procedure was successful, Lumbard said, and no complications followed.

The Louisiana Health section is focused on providing in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state. This section looks at medical innovations, health discoveries, state and national health statistics and reexamining tried and true methods on

ways to live well. Health editions will also proﬁle people who are advancing health for the state of Louisiana. Do you have ahealth story? We want to hear from you. Email margaret. delaney@theadvocate.com to submit health questions, stories and more. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

PROVIDEDPHOTO By OCHSNER HEALTH

Ochsner

Super Bowl Host

Ochsner Health

Eat Fit LiveFit

It’sastereotypethat

Thesweet truth: Unwrapping the health beneﬁts of chocolate

holdstrue:chocolate isthequintessential comfortfood.Welove toeatit;welovehowit makesusfeel.Andwe lovetousechocolate asatokenofaffection –especiallyaround Valentine’sDay. Wealsolovethe headlinesthatseem tojustifyoursweet cocoaindulgenceswith messagingthatchocolate–especiallydarkchocolate–is goodforus.

Butjusthownutritiousisit,really?

Whatthesciencesays

Here’swhatresearchtellsusaboutthebeneﬁtsof cocoa-richproducts,includingdarkchocolate: •Improvedheartandvascularhealth,including betterbloodpressurecontrol,vasodilationandheart functionaswellasreducedinﬂammation •Betterbloodsugarmanagementthroughpotential insulinsensitivityimprovement,whichinturnmay helpreducetheriskofdevelopingType2diabetes Mentalwellbeing,includingenhancedmoodand brainfunction

It’sworthnotingthatnotallstudieshavefoundbeneﬁts.Also,somestudiesusedcocoasupplements,whichare usuallymoreconcentratedthantypicaldarkchocolate.

Understandingchocolate’s beneﬁcialelements

Thecacaobeanisattheheartofchocolate’shealth benefits.It’soneofthetopsourcesofflavonoids,agroup ofcompoundswithantioxidantandanti-inflammatory effects.

Notallchocolateis particularlynutritious, though,includingmany productslabeledas“dark chocolate.” Tomake themostofchocolate’s healthbeneﬁts,here’s whattolookfor:

BY THENUMBERS

•Highcocoacontent:Morecocoa generallymeansmoreflavonoids. Lookfordarkchocolatethatcontainsatleast70percentcocoa.If itdoesnotsaythepercentageon thelabel,chancesareit’snot •Minimalprocessing:Techniques likedutching–alkalizingthecocoa–cansignificantlyreducethe concentrationofflavonoids.Look forbrandswithprocessingdetails ontheirlabels,includinginformationaboutlow-heatroastingand minimalalkalization.

•Simpleingredients:Lookforfeweradd-inslikemilk solids,vegetableoilsandemulsiﬁers.Thesetypically indicateless-than-optimalchocolate.Allthat’sreally neededareafewingredientslikechocolateliquor(it maybelistedascacao),cocoabutterandmaybea littlesugarandseasalt.

Recommendedbrandsandproducts

Whilespecificbrandsmightnotconsistentlyprovide dataonflavonoidcontent,optingforthoseknownfor minimalprocessingandhighcocoapercentagescanbe beneficial.ThreechocolatebrandsIlookforincludeAlter Eco,HuandPascha.

Forthosewatchingtheircarbohydrateandsugar intake,brandslikeChocZeroandLily’sofferoptionsdesignedtohaveminimalimpactonglucoselevels.ChocZerooffers92percentdarkchocolate.Lily’sonlygoesupto 55percentbutstillmakessatisfyingchocolatetreatswith littletonosugar

Thebottomline

WhengiftingyourValentinewithchocolate,consider qualityandsimplicitytosavoritwiselyandreapthepotentialbeneﬁtsofthisbelovedtreat

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsner’sEatFit nonproﬁtinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia. Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam.

HEARTATTACKDEATHS

Recipe:LowCarbDoubleDark ChocolateCookies

Thiscocoa-richrecipeisnaturallygluten-freeand grain-free,sweetenedwithplant-basedzero-sugar sweeteners.(Makes16cookies)

Ingredients •Nonstickcookingspray

•2largeeggwhites

•1/2cupgranularSwerve

•1/4cupallulosesyrup

•1teaspoonvanillaextract

•1cupplus2tablespoonsﬁnelygroundalmondﬂour •1/2cupunsweetenedcocoapowder

•1teaspoonbakingsoda

•1/4teaspoonkoshersalt

•3/4cupstevia-sweeteneddark-stylechocolate chips(e.g.,Lily’s),divided •Flakyseasalt

Inamediumbowl,whiskeggwhites,Swerve,allulose andvanillauntilfrothy,11/2to2minutes

Inalargebowl,whisktogetherthealmondﬂour,cocoa powder,bakingsodaandsalt.Addintheeggwhite mixtureandstirwithaspatulauntilcombined.Foldin abouthalfofthechocolatechips.Rolldoughintoballs thenwrapwithplastic.Refrigerateatleast2to3hours; doughmustbechilledbeforebaking.

Preheatovento350degrees.Linebakingsheet(s)with parchment.Workingwithoneballofdoughatatime (leavetheotherinthefridge),rollthedoughintoballs aboutthesizeofagolfball,orjustasmidgesmaller. Pressthedoughballtoﬂattenslightly Placetwoinchesapartonthepreparedbakingsheet andsprinklewithﬂakedseasalt(optional).Gentlypress remainingchocolatechipsintotopsofcookies

Bakefor9-10minutes,untiljustsetontheedges.Let thecookiescoolonthebakingsheetatleast15minutes Theywillcontinuetocookslightlyastheysitonthe bakingsheet.

Storeinanairtightcontainerforupto4daysor refrigerateupto7days

PerServing(onecookie):80calories,6gramsfat, 2gramssaturatedfat,55mgsodium,15grams carbohydrate(2gramsnetcarbs),4gramsﬁber,<1gram sugar(0addedsugar),3gramsprotein

HEART

Continuedfrom page1

contributortoheart

for four seconds, exhale for four seconds and pause for four seconds before repeating. This easy exercise helps reset your mind andlower stress levels, giving your heart amuch-needed break.

Staying hydrated helps your heartpump

Findingmovement

Every 40 seconds, someone in the UnitedStates hasa heartattack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About 1in5ofheart attacks are silent, the CDC says, meaning the damagetothe heartisdone,but the person is not aware of it. InLouisiana, the averagenumberofheart attackdeaths between 2019 and 2021 was 28.7 per100,000.Thestate ranks36th in heartattack deaths, with anational averageof26.2 heartattack deaths per 100,000

Thirty-one out of 64 parishesinLouisiana had less heartattack deaths per100,000 thanthe national average.Theparishes withthe lowest average of heartattack deaths include:

n Calcasieu Parish with 6.2 deaths per 100,000

n Lincoln Parish with 9.8 deaths per100,000

n Webster Parish with 9.8 deaths per 100,000

n St. Charles Parish with 10.5 deaths per 100,000

n Orleans Parish with 11 deaths per100,000

Out of 3,144 counties in the UnitedStates,

nationwith140 heartattack deaths per100,000. AfterMorehouse

efﬁciently and reduces unnecessary strain. Whendehydrated, your blood volume decreases, making the heart work harder to pumpblood. This canleadtoanincreased heartrate and lower blood pressure accordingtothe AmericanHeart Association

Manage thestress

Stress is sneaky —itcan creep up on you, raising blood pressure and triggering anxiety that may mimic heart symptoms. Chronic stress can raise cortisollevels, whichis linked to increased blood pressure and cholesterol. According to theAmerican HeartAssociation, adults have a40to50% increased risk of heart disease in individuals experiencing chronic stress. Learning to manage stress is as crucial as monitoring your diet.Simple breathing exercises such as square breathing can help to stay calm during busy days.

To practice, inhale for four seconds, hold your breath

Moderate, consistent activity goes along waytosupport your heart. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate weekly exercise. Whether it’sabrisk walk, dancing or yoga,ﬁnd an activity you enjoy and stick with it.

For Blem, walking is the perfect balance of physical and mental wellness.

“It’sa chance to reflect, recharge and reconnect,” she says.

Knowingyournumbers

Monitoring your health andchecking in with your doctor regularly is essential for early detection of potential heart issues. Blem now tracks her blood pressure weekly and takes medications as prescribed.

“I didn’trealize howeven slightly high blood pressure could be awarning sign,” she said.

Living with an ascending aorta aneurysm has been a constant reminder for Blem to prioritize herhealth.But it’salso been ajourney of self-discovery and resilience. Throughcareful monitoring, aheart-healthy diet and mindful practiceslike yoga, meditation andwalking, Blem is taking control of her health and managing the condition proactively Blem’sstory is atestament to thepower of small, consistent changes. By focusing on abalanced diet, staying hydrated,managing stress andstaying active, she’staking control of her health while honoring her family’slegacy

“Heart health isn’tabout perfection. It’s aboutmaking better choices. One meal, onewalk, one deep breath at atime,” Blem said. Heart health doesn’trequiredrasticmeasures. It’s about reducing risks, not eliminating joy

“Our hearts work tirelessly for us,” Blem says. “It’sonly fair to show them alittle love in return.” Whether starting with a healthier snack or scheduling that overdue doctor’s visit, remember that every smallstepisa bigwin for your health.

If you have afamily history of heart disease, discuss your risk factors with your doctor.Questions like, “Is it time to take ababy aspirin?” or “What screenings are necessary?”can open the door to lifesaving conversations.

AFPFILE PHOTOByFREDERIC J. BROWNAFP

BRO UGH TT OY OU BY

Molly Kimball RD,CSSD

Brain Health

Manypeoplewonderifthere’sanythingtheycandotokeeptheirbrainhealthyandreducetheriskof dementia.There’sgoodnews!Makingsomesimplelifestylechangescanimproveyourbrainhealth.What’s evenbetteristhatthesehabitswillmakeyourlifericherandmoreenjoyable.Hereareﬁvethingsto incorporateintoyourlife:

Exercise:Mostofusknowexerciseisgoodforourhearts.But didyouknowexerciseisgoodforyourbrain,too?Exercising ﬁvedaysaweekfor20to30minutesatatimehasbeen showntohavelong-termpositiveeffectsonthebrain.Try activitieslikewalking,dancing,cyclingorswimming

Diet:Eatinghealthyfoodsoverthecourseofyour lifeandminimizingjunkfoodiscriticalforbrain health,sothere’snotimeliketodaytogetstarted. Thinkfruits,vegetables,healthyoilsandﬁsh.

Sleep:Didyouknowpoorsleepisoneofthebiggest causesofreducedconcentrationandmemoryproblems? Poorsleepthatgoesonforyearsisnotgoodforyourbrain. Weallneedseventoninehoursofuninterruptedsleepeach night.Ifyouneedhelp,consultyourdoctororhealthcareprovider.

Top5 tips forbetter brain health 1 2 3 4

Relaxationandstressreduction:Stresscanaffectmood andmemoryanditalsocanincreaseanxiety.Maketime forrelaxationandunplugfromtechnologylikecellphones. Takingwalks,relaxinginthebathtub,andpracticingdeep breathingareafewwaystorelax.Ifyouneedadditionalhelp withstressandanxiety,talktoatherapistorpsychologist.

Mentalactivity:Keepyourmindsharpwithactivitieslike reading,talkingtofamilyandfriends,doingpuzzles,and socializing.Don’tspendallyourfreetimezonedoutinfront oftheTV.

Ourfoodchoicesaffectourmood,brainfunctionandmentalwell-being. There’sevenabranchofmedicinethatstudiesthebrain-gutconnection callednutritionalpsychiatry.

Inflammationisyourbody’sresponsetoinjuryorinfection.Butlong-term inflammationcanharmyou,physicallyandmentally.Inflammationcanmake depressionandanxietyworse,anditcaninterferewithbrainfunction.It’s importanttoeatfoodsthathelpreduceinflammation.

Herearesixtypesoffoodstoincorporateintoyourdiettoimproveyour mentalwell-being:

1. Fruitsandvegetables,suchasberriesandleafygreens

2. Healthyfats,includingavocadosandoilyﬁsh,suchassalmon, mackerelandsardines

3. Wholegrains,suchasquinoa,brownrice,oatsandwholewheat

4. Leanproteins,suchasleanmeats,poultry,ﬁsh,beansanddairy

5. Fermentedfoods,suchasyogurt,keﬁr(afermenteddrinkusually madefrommilk),sauerkrautandkimchi(atraditionalKoreandish madeoffermentedvegetables,suchascabbage)

6. Herbsandspices,suchasturmericandginger

Ifyou’renoteatingalotofthesefoodsrightnow,makethetransition moremanageablebyintroducingthemslowlyovertimeasyoustartreducing processedfoodsandreﬁnedsugar.Drinkplentyofwaterthroughouttheday. Thinkabouthowdifferentfoodsmakeyoufeelaftereatingthem.Aimfor balancedmeals,andeatonaconsistentscheduleeachday.

Peoplewhohavediabeteshavelotsofgoodreasonsforcontrolling it,includingloweringchancesofheartdisease,stroke,andfootorleg amputations.Anothergreatreasontocontrolyourdiabetesislowering yourriskofdementia.

Researchhasshownanincreasedriskofdementiaforpeoplewithtype 2diabetes.

MostpeopleintheUnitedStateswhohavediabeteshavetype2 diabetes.Andresearchaboutthelinkbetweendiabetesanddementia hasmostlycenteredonpeoplewithtype2.

Peoplewithdiabetesareunabletoproduceenoughinsulin.Without insulin,glucose(sugar)staysinthebloodstreamathigherlevels.Over time,thatuncontrolledglucosecancausemultiplesideeffects,including mentalcomplications.Dementiaisonepossiblesideeffect.

Whilescientistsarestillstudyingthelinkbetweendementiaand diabetes,youcanmakechangestoyourlifestyleandtakemedicationsto improveyourhealthandcontrolyourbloodglucoselevels.Herearesteps youcantake:

1. Knowyournumbers.Ifyou’reworriedyoumighthave diabetes,reviewyourmostrecentbloodsugarlevel withyourdoctor.Workwithyourcareteamtocreate aplanofaction.

2. Ifyou’rediagnosedwithtype2diabetes,the OchsnerDigitalMedicineprogramisagreatwayto keepitundercontrol. Thisprogramempowers youtotakecontrol ofyourdiabeteswith guidance,supportand monitoringfromhome. Learnmoreonlinehere: connectedhealth.ochsner. org/digital-medicine

3. Manageyourblood pressure.Ochsner’sDigital Medicineprogramcan helpwiththat,too.

4. Considerlifestylechanges.Increasephysicalactivity bywalkingaroundtheblockafterdinnerandtake abreakduringtheworkdaytowalkafewﬂightsof stairs.

5. Stopsmoking.Ifyouneedhelp, checkouttheresourcesfromOchsner’s SmokingCessationprogramonlineat ochsner.org/stopsmoking.

6. Eatahealthy,low-fatdiet.

7. Controlyourcholesterol.

LOUISIANA

HANDS-ON LEARNING

Design and management areamong theprofessionaltracks students explore

BYRACHEL MIPRO

Contributing writer

At ahistoric NewOrleanstheater, directors are brainstorming ways to connect youngpeople withthe age-old tradition of drama

While Le Petit Theatre has been around since1916, its workshop development programwas established only seven years agototeach students about the technical aspectsof the industry.For the upcoming spring season, the theatrewillhost aseriesof workshops geared toward classes that cover several topics of the entertainment industry,such as costume design and stage management.

Don-ScottCooper,LePetit Théâtre du Vieux Carré’sproducing executive director,used hisown experience to shape the educational program. When he arrivedinNew Orleans in 2017, fresh off astint as general manager of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, he saw agap in technical training for young New Orleanians. While he discoveredplenty of theater camps for peoplewho wanted to perform, he felt likethere wasn’tanything for people like himwho were still interestedintheater but wanted to be behind the scenes.

“I didn’twant to be an actor.Iwas very shy,” Cooper said. “I didn’twant to be on stage. So, it was like coming up withthat sort of way to participate for the kid who doesn’twant to be in the spotlight, plus also training people to work in the industry.”

Breaking downbarriers Cooper hopes that the program,

which beganin2018, will break down barriers to accessing the dramatic arts world and encourage more arts-based careers.

“Hopefully it makestheatera more central part of theconversation, and it allows morepeople to realize that theater is something that is for them,” Cooper said.

Throughout the years, students have learned how to paint scenery,work on their sewingskills, utilize lighting effectsand hone other skillsthatare transferable to entertainment industries such as television, musicand more.

“Finding skilled carpenters, finding skilled electricians, finding people who have these sort of technical skills that arenecessarytomakeart happen, whether it’s music, theater,dance, film, TV,itall translates,” Cooper said.

The theater’stechnical workshops in thespring will focus on teaching basic sewing machine skills and stage management.Whileeach session comes with aprice tag,Cooper said no interested student will be turned away,and there are scholarships available.

Le PetitTheatre alsoofferscomplimentary tickets to schools in the New Orleans area for its student matinees

Hands-on instruction

A.J. Allegra,artistic director for the theater,talked aboutthe beneﬁts of training students to express themselves creativelythroughtechnical crafts. Allegra, who has along history of theater education,moved to New Orleans to help kick-start the ensembletheater group, TheNOLA Project

“Wewantedtoproduce theater that we feltwas impactfulina place that we felt like had too littleofthat type of theater,” Allegra said of his original move to New Orleans.

Now,he’slooking to spark more interest in ayounger demographic.

Allegra says the small class sizes

at Le PetitTheatre —the sewing workshop is capped at eight students —are neededtoprovide hands-on instruction.

“Wedeﬁnitely are focused on theindividual student,asopposed to trying to reach amass quantity of students at one time,” Allegrasaid. “You can’t give quality instructions to amassive amount of people at one time. Youkind of need to be one-on-one over thestudents, showing them, observing what they’re doing and then guiding them.”

Training anew generation

Designer andcostumerKathleen VanHorn, amember of the Le Petit Theatre Council, stressed the importance of skills like sewing.

“It’svital to really train the new, next generation of artists,backstage artists, designers, all that,” VanHorn said.

She noted that she became interested in sewing at the age of ﬁve and started ofﬁcially taking lessons in the craft at 8years old, which sparked a

Little in life turnsout as planned

Ilovemapsand planning trips.

Months ago, we booked avacationtoMexicoCity with friends. It has been oneofthose trips that neverseemed like it would get here or happen. WhenIreserved ourhotel room, Icould see on the map thatitwas near the Zócalo. Thatsaid, Ihad no idea just how closeitwas to the square that is considered the heart of Mexico. Sadly,our friends weren’table to join us —and we hadtoadjust ourexpectations forthe trip. It hasnot been what we planned, but it has been wonderful nonetheless.

Today, on ourthird day in MexicoCity,myhusband and Ispent muchofthe dayatFrida Kahlo’s home-turned-museum and exploring herdelightful neighborhood,calledCoyoacán. We came back to ourhotel room so that I could write my column.

Igenerally write in quiet. As Isit in ourhotel room overlooking the Zócalo, it is anything but quiet.

Ican hear throngs of people anddrumming. Ihearchurch bells. Ihear Mexican music.Occasionally,I hear conch shells blow. That’sfor the ceremonial cleanses. Along the edge of the Zócalofor the equivalent of about$2.50, men and womenwho wear lots of feathers and have their faces painted—who may or may notbeshamans —burn herbs andsay healing words over each personwho linesupand pays the money.(My husband hassaidmorethanonce that the shamans would make aboatload of money in JacksonSquare.)

If you’re curious, yes, Idid the ceremonialcleansing on the day we arrived. My husband did not.

On ourfirst dayhere, my husband andIspent an hour or so on the Zócalo. Ispent at least 20 minutes chasing giant bubbles andtrying to take apicture through abubble of the largerthan-life Mexican flaginthe centerofthe square.I was dodging people right andleft but finally gota decentshot.

If Ithought the Zócalo was a rowdy sceneonthe day we arrived—orevenanhour ago when Istartedwriting —Ihadn’t seen anything yet. Hundreds of workers have startedmarching in fora most enthusiastic rally with incredible,in-sync chanting. The people in their various colorsofT-shirts continue to ﬁll the Zócalo, with no endinsight of people headed this way

The Zócaloservesasthe country’scentralpublic square. At this moment, aman is offering impassionedpleas of gratitude By now, thousands of people have ﬁlledthe Zócalo, whichisa place of democracyinacountry thathas its share of stratiﬁcation. This is the place Mexicans gatherfor major celebrations, historical commemorations, protests anda variety of cultural events.

Despite the ever-growing rally at the moment, Isee couples walking hand-in-hand, men playing soccer,vendors selling everything —bubble makers, tapestries, rainbow-colored slinkys, plastic keychains, carved wooden boxes, T-shirts, cowboy hats, woven blankets andmore.

The Zócaloisa cacophony of humanity —childrenchasing balloons, students trying to save the whale andworkers uniting with agiant ﬂagﬂying overhead. Flankedbythe Palacio Nacional(the presidentialpalace) on the north andthe Metropolitan Cathedraland on the south are

PROVIDED PHOTO

From left, Isaac Milton, Rowan Hiramatsu and Marjorie Harville work in ascenic paintingtech class at Le Petit.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Duncan Becker,left, and James Andrews work together at Le Petit Theatre’sworkforce development program.

LouisianaPublicBroadcastingveteran stepsintoretirement

Clay Fourrier leaves a legacy after50years

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

Clay Fourrier’spassionfor media began as achild when his parents gave him his ﬁrst camera. He knew from then on that he wanted to make movies and television. A Baton Rouge native, Fourrier is aCatholic High School and LSU alumnus.

Fourrier pursued that passion through high school, collegeand his ﬁrst job in public television, which led to Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

Since the very beginning,Fourrier played acritical role at LPB as aproduction assistant, director, executiveproducer and executive project consultant.Hereceived the LPB President’sAward presentedbyLPB Presidentand CEO C.C. Copeland. In December, he retired after 50 years with the company How did you decide to makeacareer in media and television?

When Iwas 12 or 13, Iknew what Iwanted to do, but Ididn’t know howitwould occur. Igot my ﬁrst 8mmcamera from my parents for aChristmas present. I started making home movies that first day.From there, Istarted getting my friends togetherand directinglittle ﬁlms.

Idecided Ineeded to be in broadcasting. There was no such thing as mass communication atLSU back then, but you could majorin speech, which included things like theater and broadcasting.

In 1972, right out of LSU,I got wordofaclosed-circuitmedical television network that had been set up by the Department of Hospitals and LSU School of Medicine called “Louisiana HospitalTelevisionNetwork,” and Istarted my ﬁrstjob in educational television.

When LPB started in 1975, what wasyour role?

Iwas aphotographer,and Ialso did sets. When Iinterviewed at LPB in 1975, Igot the art director position,and Iwas very instrumental in theoriginallookofLPB

We went through anumber of names. Finally,wecame up with Louisiana PublicBroadcasting, because alot of theother PBS networks were doingthat. Ihelped design the ﬁrst logos and the original sets that were used.

We didn’thave alot of money foranart department back then There were certainly no computers. Iwould actually do ads by cutting and pasting littledrawings I did, or cutouts of photographs, putting them all together and then sending them into the newspaper and such

Do you ever getnostalgic for those days, as far as thehandiwork and the craftsmanship,orwereyou excitedwhencomputers were introduced?

Igotta tellyou,Ilovecomputers. Ilove technology.I love where it’sgoing.

Ihave continued my loveof graphics and drawing and art through computers up until today Iloveita lotmore than what Iwas trying to do back then.

What are some important lessons you’ve learnedin50years of public broadcasting?

It’snot justa one-person job.It’s teamwork. It’sbeing able to be part of agroup of creative people thatall developand sharetheir ideas with one another Ilovethe ideaofbeing able to share back and forth with other creative typestobasically createaﬁnal production, which is so many different partsofsomany different creative minds.

Ialso learned that whatever you do, make sure it’sthe bestyou can because it will be around for a long time. Most of the programming that Idid is available on LPB in our archives for everyone to see.

THEATRE

Continued from page2y

lifelong love of the profession.

While she didn’tbegin afulltime careerasa seamstress until she openedher studio in 2011, VanHorn hadgained experience making costumesincollege and kept going, making costumes forschool plays andlocal organizations.

VanHornsaidintroducingpeople to this technical side of theater at an early age helps to inform ca-

reer choices,aswell as teaches the value of collaboration.

“Every role is important,”she said.

Allegra stressed one other beneﬁt to learning the ropes of theater: personal connection.

“I hopethat theater continues to be aforce forcreativity and imagination in kids’ lives,” Allegra said. “Somuch of kids’ lives are dominated by electronic communications, apps and artiﬁcial intelligence. Ihopethat theater can remain areal connection to the tangible world andthe tangible arts.”

Howhas your time at LPB impacted you?

This business of broadcasting calls me back no matter what.

When Iwas aphotographer and editor,Bob Courtney,Beth George and Ron Blome would go out and shootatthe Capitolfor “Louisiana, the State We’re In.”

We would go around the state, shooting the culture, shooting the people, doing stories on the art, thefood, thefestivals,the politics. It was afantastic timebecause we got to be in the middle of history, in the making of Louisiana.I directed music programs. Idirected plays. IdirectedFrenchprograms, interview programs and shows —anything that came up that was an eclectic mix of Louisiana programming.

What are you most proud of?

Beinga pioneer in computeranimation.

As an executive producer,I think my No. 1program, which I co-executive produced with Beth, was our Louisiana history series where we started at the verybeginningofLouisiana history and moved up to the year 2000.

The coolest thing is we got so many of ourprograms distributed nationally

The other thing I’mvery proud of is that LPBbecameagreat technological educational resource for the children of this state. It was something whichfirst began as instructional television, and then VHScameout.People were able to record those programs to show in the classroom. The internet came out, and nowall of that is available online for people.

Do you think that our state’suniqueness is areason whyitwas picked up nationally?

Ourstate’suniqueness is thereason why,not only the history program waspickedup, butIthink it’swhy Justin Wilson’s cooking shows were picked up back in the early ’80s. It’sthe reason why all the John Folse series were picked up nationally

RISHER

Continued from page 2y

the city government ofﬁces, the Zócalo has played acentral role in thecountry’spre- and postcolonial history Its roots date back to the Aztec era when it was the center of Tenochtitlan. Legend has it that the Aztecs were told by their gods to ﬁnd aplace where they would see an eagle eating a snake on top of acactus. Roughly 700 years ago, they spotted the eagle in the cactus eating the snake on an island in Lake Texcoco, alarge shallow lake.

The Aztecs proceeded to build their city there, going to great lengths to managewater levels by building acomplex system of causeways and canals to connect their island city to the mainland. After the Spanish conquered the area, they built larger-scale canals and got more serious about draining the lake.

Alot of the programs we did that involved Louisiana were about the good things, the culture, the people and the food of Louisiana. Our mission was and is still to create these programs which basically bring thegood news aboutLouisianatothe restofthe country through the PBS network.

What are your retirement plans?

Because Iamwho Iam, I’m still going in as avolunteer helping digitizethe LPBhistory so that we’ll have that, since this is the 50th anniversary of LPB. Ialso have apassion formaking sure that the hobby of model trains is continued into the future.

Iamthe president of the Louisianachapterofthe Train Collectors Association and the president of the Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders. We’re located at the Old Hickory Railroad Train Museum in Jackson. I’ve been doing train shows in Ponchatoula andnow in Covington for about20years.I’vealsobeen doing aTrain Day at the Main Library for about 10 years, which is coming up on March 1. This interview was edited for length and clarity

Email Joy Holden at joy.holden@ theadvocate.com.

The sun is now beginning to set. The lights of the Palacio Nacional have come on. All these years after the Aztecs and the Spaniards, therally before me continues, but workers are beginning to scatter.Chances are today wasn’texactly what they expected either,but today is payday in Mexico. (Yes, most people in Mexico get paid on the same day.) It’stime to go eat and be with the people they love. Little in life turns out as ex-

pected, but sometimes detours lead to sweeter places than the ones we had mappedand planned.

At Our Lady of Lourdes Health,we’renot just setting thestandardfor cardiac care– we areelevating it. From lifesavingtreatments to preventive care, we’releading theway in heart health As Acadiana’sonly hospital dedicated solely to heart care, Our Lady of Lourdes Heart Hospital leads withinnovation and compassion. We werethe ﬁrst in theregion to earn national certiﬁcation for TAVR, and our universal bed concept ensures seamless, patient-centered careinone private room throughout thehealing journey.Recognized with the2024 PressGaney Guardian of Excellence Awardfor patient satisfaction, we arecommitted to providing an exceptional human experience. Whatwedotoday is what others will strive to imitate tomorrow.Our mission guidesus, and aspirit of excellence propels us –because thecommunities we areprivileged to servedeserve nothing less. LourdesRMC.com/excellence

PROVIDED PHOTO

ClayFourrier poses with hisPresident’sLeadership Award from Louisiana Public Broadcasting in 2021.

PROVIDED PHOTO

In atech classatLePetit Theatre are, from left,Zipporah Conner,Suzie Klemmer and KaileyDaniel.

STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER

The Zócalo, the main square in Mexico City

FAITH &VALUES

Ashevillechurchﬁndsaway to help afterHelene

BY YONATSHIMRON Contributing writer

On arecent Tuesday morning, dozens of people affected by Hurricane Helene had already lined up outside the glass doors of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church. Inside, volunteers weresqueezed into asmall businessofﬁce, some seated on the ﬂoor,awaiting their pastor’s instructions for theday On awhiteboard, the Rev.MarciaMount Shoop asked their help to match tasks with names: Who would process applications for rent and utilities? Who would interpret from Spanish? Whowould attend to the parking lot?Who would welcome visitors at the reception hall? Who wouldhelp them shop for food and toiletries?

With tasks assigned,she was readytosend her troops into the ﬁeld.

“OK, are we ready to ask the universe for some assistance?” Mount Shoop, 55, called out. “First,Iwant you to just stomp your feet alittle bit. Getyourselfgrounded. Feel that vibration —acommunity on the move, doing the work.”

Then she launched into ashort prayer: “God, help us trustyou and your promise that the truth will set us free. We trust you with everything we do here today withevery conversation, with everycheck, with every itemthat is shared, with every moment that somehow,some way, in your creativity and your poetry,it will serve your highest good.”

LastSeptember,Helene, one of the most ferocious storms ever to hitNorth Carolina,including Asheville, itswesternmost city,dumped afoot of rain, causing mudslides, raging rivers and catastrophic flooding. Hundreds lost their homes. Roads and bridgeswere washed away.Atleast 100 people died in Asheville and the surrounding towns. Along with federal and state agencies, national, faith-based relief organizations swooped in.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saintsdispatched hundreds of volunteers to clear debris andre-

move downed trees. Samaritan’s Purse, theaid organization headed by Franklin Graham, delivered tons of reliefsuppliesand replaced more than 50 mobile homes. World Vision,another evangelicalChristiangroup, sent truckloads of water,muck-out kits andgenerators. Amid those heavy hitters, one midsize church in Asheville has met themoment inabig way.The Sunday after thestorm, Grace Covenant Presbyterian,aliberal, mostly White congregation of 730, found its calling, offering rent support to hundreds of people who hadlost their jobs after damaged buildings or lack of electricity andwater forced their business to close.

TheFederal Emergency Management Agency,orFEMA,provides hotel staysfor up to 180 days for people whose homes were destroyed or left unlivable —until March 27 for Helene’svictims. In addition, the state providedenhancedunemployment insurance. But for many coming to Grace Covenant, that wasn’t enough. Having lost their livelihoods after the storm,many fell behind on theirability to payAsheville’s pricey rents.That’swhere Grace Covenant has aimed its help.

In less than four months,Grace Covenant has doled out $3.5 million in rent assistance and about $500,000 in electricity payments, servinghundreds of residents. It hasalso turned its sanctuary into astorehouse where anyone can ﬁll afoldingwagon with canned food, diapers and toilet paper

Someofthe funds camefrom thecity,which granted Grace Covenant $450,000 leftoverfrom ahousing project that never materialized. Thechurch has also received $300,000 from Buncombe County,aswell as grantsfrom Community Foundation of Western North Carolinaand the United WayofofAsheville and Buncombe County.The bulk of the funds, however, have come fromprivate individualsimpressed with the church’s commitment and ﬂexibility in helping theneedy “Wesaw amassive national re-

Powering Progress

sponse from faith-based organizations,” said AshevilleMayor Esther Manheimer.“Butwhat Grace Covenant is doing and continues to do is,isone of thebigger, more robust examples of alocal faithbased organization stepping up in atime of crisis.”

Still, the as the need for itsrent support program has outpaced resources, theprogram may have to scale back from three days aweek to two, unless it is able to secure morefunding, which Mount Shoop is working feverishly to ﬁnd.

A57-year-old nurse’s aide who asked thather name not be used wasone of thedozenswho lined up for rent assistance last week. She worked in agrouphome that hadsuffered extensive damage in the storm. Whenthe residents were moved to other facilities, she lost her job. Afew days before, she had landed another job but she still could not make this month’s $1,800 rent on her condo, which she shares withher 5-year-old granddaughter “I have alwayspaidmyrenton time,”she sheepishlytoldKate Shem,anelder at Grace Covenant who has been volunteering. Shemveriﬁed thewoman’s resi-

dence on her laptop, picked up her phone and called the woman’slandlord to ask how muchshe owed in rent. After consulting with Mount Shoop, Shem returnedtotell the woman she had good news. The church would pay her back rent. Could she come by the next week to pick up acheck madeout to her landlord?

“Churches andother faithcommunities can playa really pivotal role in the aftermath of disasters because we have the ﬂexibility in creating our infrastructure,” said Shem, who has amaster’sinpublic administration. “We’re able to help folksmuch faster.You have to be nimble and ﬂexible in timesofcrisis.”

The initiative began twodays afterthe hurricane hit. Mount Shoop andher members had already agreed that the church could serve as arelief site, without knowing exactly whatthat would mean. Communication wasstill impossible, as cell service was down.

“I wasatthe church and my phone workedfor aminute,and I gotword froma formerparishioner in achurchIserved in Chicago, thathehad sent a$50,000 gift,” Mount Shoop said. “At the time, I

thought,$50,000! Wow! We can do a lot with that. That was the catalyst that made me say to the volunteers, ‘Just tell people whatever issue they have, tell us about it, and we’ll try to meet it.’

Rent support emerged as the topneed. In thoseﬁrstweeks, the church opened its doors every day As moregiftscame in, it wasable to dole out aminimum of $100,000 aday to landlords. The church negotiates withlandlords to forgo late fees.

Mostofthe ﬁrst to receiverent support from the church were Spanishspeakers, andthe church made sure it hadtranslators on hand. “This is aboutreciprocity,” saidMount Shoop.“It’s aboutredistributing wealth and creating the architecturefor this to notbeanutter ﬁnancial ruin for our Black and Brownneighbors,the people that don’thave as muchofasafety net whensomething likethishappens.”

Four months after the storm, the congregation is leaning heavily on faith. It’s impossible to knowwhat grant or benefactor might step in to allow it to continue the work from week to week.

Meanwhile, Sundayservices in thesanctuarytakeplace amid tables piledhigh withtoiletpaper, diapers or bags of cat litter and canned goods. (The pews wereremoved two yearsago, making the space multipurpose.)

The church is already beginning to form alonger-term vision of building hurricane replacement housingonits land.The idea is for an equity model where tenants pay rent butare abletotakesomeofit with them when they leave.

“It’s importanttothose of us now coming to church that we continue this,” said Cathy Froehlich, a longtime churchmember who has overseen the relief distribution. “Wedon’t knowwhat that looks like right now,but we deﬁnitely want to continue to help our community. We’re giving hoursand hours of helping people. And that’sjust a different feeling forme. That’sa good feeling forme. Igohome at night tired.But Ifeel blessed to have been apart of this.”

“For nearly acentury, theU.S. Gulf Coasthas been centraltoShell’s business and theU.S. energy supply. By investinginour Louisiana assets,we arelowering emissions and supplying thenextgeneration of energy.” EMMALEWIS

ShellinLouisiana is shapingthe future of energy. With thousands of Shellmen andwomen across thestate,weare workingevery daytoreduce emissions,while increasing efﬁciency in our operations.

Our tomorrowdepends on whatwedotoday. Together,weare powering progress fora brighterfuture. Louisianaiswhere we live and we’reproud to call it home.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Residents seeking assistance wait to be helped at GraceCovenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville, N.C.,onJan. 14.

Training thenextgenerationofurban farmers

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

Fresh food is apremiumin neighborhoods where transportation is lacking and walkability to freshproduce is notfeasible.

Inthe capital city,BatonRoots not only grows food in those communities to counteract such issues but is also paving apath toward horticultural futuresby training the next generation of urban gardeners

Mitchell Provensal, the Baton Roots associate director of agroforestry,founded the organization in 2019 —the programis part of The Walls Project,which leads programs and events that breakthrough social systems that prevent peoplefromliving safe, healthy lives.

Baton Roots beganasa community gardeningprogram with 18 raised garden beds at Howell Park. Six years later,the program has expanded into public housing, classrooms, internships and even an apprenticeship program. SK Groll,the Baton Roots associate director of planning and evaluation, says Baton Roots has grown in size and scope.

In addition to the four acres at Howell Park, the organization has gardensand fruitorchards, compliments of Baton Rouge Green’s CityCitrus initiative, at the 11 East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority communities.

Thisyear,BatonRoots has started two traininginitiatives through their Agroforestry Apprentice and Hustle and Grow internship programs.

Provensal saysthatthe averageage of the farmer is close to 60 years old in the United States, and the percentage of farmers is near 2% —many of whom are growing cash crops that do not directly feed people.

“There is thistiny population of mostly older people that is growing food for everybody else,”he said. “Weneed more youth interested in agriculture, growing food and being part of the food system. We’rehopingtoinspire a new generation of farmers and growers.”

Agroforestry apprentices

Agroforestryisaland use management system that integrates treeswith crops or pasture.

Baton Roots has agrant with the USDAand the U.S. Forest Service for the next few years to runanadult agroforestry apprenticeship program in which theparticipants learn by handson experienceswith Baton Roots andBatonRougeGreen.

The inaugural Agroforestry Apprenticeship programstarted Jan. 14, and the 13 apprentices work Tuesday through Thursday with optional field work on the weekends.

“We’ve got folks who are 18 yearsold and just graduated highschool,” Groll said. “We’ve got folksfor whom this is maybe their secondorthird career.And we’ve gotfolks whoreallywere passionateabout ag and forestry but didn’thave apathway into a career in those ﬁelds.”

By the endof the apprenticeship, the participants will be trained totakethe state horticulture andarborist license exams.

High school student internships

The youth-focused internship

program, Hustle and Grow,isa 15-week spring,fall and summer training course in sustainable

urban agriculture. Hustle and Grow teen interns participate in the hands-on growing process

from start to ﬁnishand learn the importance of stewardship and food access for communities.

Theyouth program hasgone through multiple iterations, from starting withthe Mayor’sYouth Workforce Experienceingarden beds to venturing into classrooms at Capitol High School, Istrouma High School and Scotlandville Magnet High School to teach agroforestry

This year,Baton Roots is taking the current teen internship program back to the farm, starting on Feb. 13. At the end of the semester,participants will receive astipend to help them continue their agriculture education.

“Weneed the kids to experience this bigger operationofgrowing food on this urban farm,” Provensal said.

Bryce Moore, who took the pilot program horticulture prep courses, will be instructing the students. He received his horticultural licenseand hasbeen farming with Baton Roots for the past year

“I’m in awe of my team members who have the charisma and passion that makes growing food so exciting for young people,” Groll said.

Past studentsand volunteers

Throughout the years, several students and volunteers who participated in early Hustle and Grow programshavecontinued to work with Baton Roots, even joining the team.

The mobile farm manager,JacquelCurry,was avolunteerwhen Baton Rootswas startingtoexpand the farm plots at Howell Park and build the gardens at the ﬁrst Housing Authority garden site. Curry went from avolunteer to part-time employee to his fulltime position overseeing the Parish Housing Authority gardens. Groll noted that when people come together to work with Baton Roots, more people are gaining new skills in the community “Louisiana hasarichhistory of agriculture, but we need more small farmers that are growing food that’sfeeding people,” Provensal said. “I’m hoping that this hands-on program with our urban farm is showing people different possibilities.”

For more information, visit thewallsproject.org/batonroots. Email Joy

at joy.holden@

STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Sarah Cross, left, and farmhand Jack Burns chat while trimming okra plants at Baton Roots

PROVIDED PHOTO.

SUNDAY, FebrUArY9, 2025

CURTIS /byRay Billingsley

SLYLOCK FOX/ by Bob Weber Jr

GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley

HAGARTHE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM /byMike Peters

ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson

ZITS / by JerryScott andJim Borgman

SALLYFORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano &Jim Keefe

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE /byStephan Pastis

DIRECTIONS: Make a2-to7-letter word from the letters ineach row. Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” usedas any letter have no point value All the words are inthe Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary,5th Edition.

WORD GAME

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicitwords are not allowed. TODAY'S WORD —FLOCCULENT: FLOKyoo-lent: Resembling wool, especially in loose, fluffyorganization. Average mark 47 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 59 or more words in FLOCCULENT?

SUDOKU

INSTRUCTIONS: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

KEN KEN

INSTRUCTIONS:

1 -Each row and each columnmustcontain the numbers 1through 4(easy) or 1through 6(challenging) without repeating

2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-boxcages with the number in the top-left corner.

HIDATO

DIRECTIONS: Complete the grid so that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

GOREN BRIDGE

Larry’s choice

The defense against Hard Luck Louie startedwiththree rounds of spades.Louie ruffed thethird spade andsaw that the bestchance forhis contract was a3-3 club split. To give himselfanextra chance, Louie led adiamond at trick four and played low fromdummy Hewon the club shift with his ace and drew trumps. When the hearts split 3-2, Louie led a diamond to dummy’s ace and ruffed adiamond with his last trump. Should adefender with four clubs also have started with four diamonds, he would not be able to defend the position. In this three-card ending, adefender would not be able to keep three clubs and adiamond. Alas for Louie, thatline failed on this lieofthe cards and the contract went down one.

Lucky Larrygot thesame defense. After ruffing the third spade, however, he cashedthe jack of hearts and led aheart to the king. Aclub tothe ace, a club back to the king, and aclub to the queen sawLarry’s extra chance comehome.The defender with only two clubs wasout of trumps,soLarry was able to ruff his fourth club in dummy.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Broaden your horizons and explorewhat’s available in your community Express your feelings. An honest approach to friendship andlove will help clarify the possibilities

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Participate in something that interests you. Sharingexperiences and dreams will prompt youtoplan and give you something to look forward to. Be bold and make the first move.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Bide your time; refrain from letting anger overwhelmyou. Keeping the peace

Which line would you choose?

Theodds for these two lines are very hard to calculate, but we think they are quite close. Larry’s line feels alittle better, but we are not sure. Bridge can be a hard game.

Tannah Hirsch welcomes readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency Inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY. 14207. E-mail responses may be sent to gorenbridge@ aol.com. ©2025 Tribune Content Agency

WUZZLES

by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

is easier if you are physically active. Choose self-improvement over criticizing others.

TAURUS(April20-May20) Share your enthusiasm, and you’ll gain support.Refuse to let last-minute changes alter your mood or plans. Adjusttowhatever unfoldsand move forward with asmile and a positive attitude.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You can think big, but be realisticabout putting your time, effort and cash onthe line. Focus on pulling your own weight instead of buying into someone else’s plot.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Refuse to letlaziness setinwhenaction is necessary. Change begins with you; if you aren’t happy with your lifestyle or situation, do something.

LEO(July23-Aug. 22) Relax, give yourself achance to think matters through and devise aplan. You’ll discover something about who you are and what you can do if you put your best foot forward.

VIRGO (Aug.23-Sept. 22) Changing your environment will give you a new perspective. Participate in events offering insight into what’s

SUPER QUIZ

Take this Super Quiz to aPh.D. Score 1point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, 2points on the Graduate Level and 3points on the Ph.D. Level.

SUBJECT: GREAT LINES OF POETRY

Provide the missing word from the line of poetry. (e.g., “If music be the food of ____, play on,” William Shakespeare. Answer: Love.)

FRESHMAN LEVEL

1. “To be or not to be, that is the ____,” William Shakespeare.

Answer________

2. “Do not go into that good night,” Dylan Thomas.

Answer________

3. “And miles to go before I ____,” Robert Frost.

Answer________

4. “The comes on little cat feet,” Carl Sandburg.

Answer________

5. “I wandered lonely as a ____,” William Wordsworth. Answer________

GRADUATE LEVEL 6. “Because Icould not stop for ____,” Emily Dickinson.

Answer________

7. “Shall Icompare thee to asummer’s

possible and achievable. Use your imagination and make things happen.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Anopenmind will help infuse exciting prospects. Social events, communication and time spent with people who stimulate your mind will encourage you to stop procrastinating.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Diginand do something that requiresconcentration and energy. Challenge yourself to afitness regime that entails top performance.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Remove limitations before you

start something new. Let go of what’s holding you back; it will be uplifting. Align yourself with those who share your mindset.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) People in theknowwho aremovingina direction that intrigues you will draw your interest. Attend afunction that allows you to interact with movers, shakers and motivators.

Answers to puzzles

SUPER QUIZ

1. Question. 2. Gentle. 3. Sleep.4.Fog. 5. Cloud. 6. Death. 7. Day. 8. Life.9.Roads.10. Stare. 11. Fate. 12. Eyes. 13. Dreams. 14. Love. 15. Sings.

SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the books harder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?

CRYPTOQUOTE ANSWER

Saturday's Cryptoquote: There are two rules in life: Number one, never quit!Number two,never forget rule number one. —Duke Ellington

WORD GAME ANSWER