The Times-Picayune 02-09-2025 by The Advocate

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

READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL

Are you ready for some football?

Keith Spera

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-a-century snowstorm didn’t help. As hosts, we can only hope that our guests have so much fun that they don’t notice — 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-towall 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.”

ä See FOOTBALL, page 12A

9th Ward on Saturday in advance of Super Bowl LIX. STAFF

ä See FLOW, page 8A

‘IT’S ABOUT ALL OF Y’ALL’

Jon Batiste and friends stage a Love Riot in New Orleans

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer

On the day before one of the biggest gigs of his life, Jon Batiste did not take it easy Barely 24 hours before singing the national anthem at Super Bowl LIX, Batiste presided over a sweaty, all-star revue at a mini-festival in the 9th Ward on Saturday afternoon. His special guests ranged from fellow New Orleanian Ledisi, who will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” in the Caesars Superdome on Sunday, to Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav “He Gets Us presents Jon Batiste’s Love Riot Festival” was announced this week as a “day of hope and celebration” on the campus of George Washington Carver High School.

ä See BATISTE, page 17A

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

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.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip

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

ByTheAssociated 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 NEWSAGENCy 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.

PHOTO ByABDEL KAREEM HANA

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

Remains of 10 killed in Alaska plane crash recovered

BY BECKY BOHRER and HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press

JUNEAU,Alaska

The remains of all 10 people killed when their small plane crashed into ice on the Bering Sea have been recovered, authorities said.

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department made the announcement on its Facebook page Saturday afternoon. Recovery crews had been racing to recover the bodies before a winter storm was expected to hit the region.

“All ten individuals aboard the Bering Air plane have been officially brought home,” the ﬁre department wrote in the social media post at about 3 p.m. Crews were still working on recovering the aircraft, the ﬁre department said.

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.

“The loss of these two incredible individuals and everyone else on board the plane will be felt all over Alaska,” David Beveridge, vice president of environmental health and engineering for the organization, said in a statement.

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.

choked up as he discussed 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.

The Bering Air single-engine 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, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years.

The aircraft is on an ice ﬂoe that is drifting about 5 miles a day, creating difﬁcult conditions for recovery crews, said National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy during a news conference Saturday afternoon.

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 Saturday night, lasting into Sunday evening.

“Please know that we’ll work diligently to determine how this happened with the ultimate goal of improving safety in Alaska and across the United States,” said Homendy

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

Radar forensic data provided 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.

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 White-minority 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 emergingmarket 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.

Nearly2,000 people, including professional athletes celebrities and leadership teams from Fortune 500 companies,will stayatanHeirloom propertyinNew Orleans this month in the days before, during and after one of the biggest sports events of the year

Heirloom has morethan 350 luxury,large format accommodations acrossthe country,with approximately 150 in and around NewOrleans –all of which were booked forthe big game.

“Weare immensely proud of the significant economic impact we arebringing to our beloved cityofNew Orleans during this importantweekend,” FrankGlaser,co-ownerofHeirloom,said.“Weestimate that we will generate an excessofaquarter million dollarsindirect sales tax revenue from this event alone. At Heirloom, we feel privileged to be integral to the local community off NewOrleans and playa role in supporting local businesses, creatingjobsand enhancing the city’soverall economic well-being.

Glaser and his brother Dan co-founded Heirloom in 2015 to help groups have easier andmorememorabletravelexperiences.Since then, the company has scaled to become aleading builder and operator of luxury hospitalityspaces,including hotels,bed andbreakfast andamenitized single-familyhomes representedintheir portfolio

Glaser emphasized the multifaceted natureof preparingHeirloom properties foranevent of this magnitude in NewOrleans.Hestated, “Wehave meticulously ensured thatevery componentisin optimal condition, aligning with thehigh-quality experienceourguestsexpectfromHeirloom.Proactive contingency plans areinplace, with adeep roster of amazing local vendorson-call to swiftly address anyunforeseen circumstances.”

Thecompany hasbeenbuildingand developing in NewOrleans forthe last decade. The designers at Heirloom work with local artists,woodworkers, landscape designers, construction companies and architects to create properties thatare unique, functional and beautiful. Tworecentproperties include

as well as alarge planned developmentat the former Brown’sDairy sitethathas 29 newconstruction homes with an excessof200 rooms

Glaser highlighted thatHeirloom’s properties have become highly sought-afterdestinations due to acombination of intentionaldesign,exceptional amenities and the company’sunique ability to personalizeservicestomeet theindividual needs of every group

“Taking good care of our guests looksdifferent in the contextofanevent like this.Withsomany individualrequeststosupport events andcelebrities,our warehouseisfilled with differentprops and staging items,” he said. “Our guests look to the talentedlocal team we’vebuilt at Heirloom because theywantaspace wherethereisroom forall the specific amenities theyneed when theytravel.” Glaser said Heirloom facilitatedseveral exclusiveeventsfor its guests beforeand during the game, such as privatedinners, group crawfish boils watchparties and more. Thatisinaddition to the VIP concierge service provided to all Heirloom guests in which thecompanyworkswith local chefs,tour guides and other vendorstoensurethatguests have accesstothe best that NewOrleans has to offer Heirloom’s abilitytocapitalizeonNew Orleans’ position as the hostofaglobal eventpromises to be aboon not only forthe company, but forhundreds of othersand the cityasawhole. Heirloom has nearly 100employees,withapproximately half of those based in NewOrleans.Ithas alsocreatedathriving ecosystemoflocal vendorsand foreverything from cleaning and maintenancetodelivery services and food preparation. “Wewantthistobeanopportunity forHeirloom to be

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.

LOUISIANA POLITICS

Some embrace Trump’s Gaza idea

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 war-ravaged 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 25-mile-long community that borders Israel. A ceaseﬁre was declared last month before Trump took ofﬁce

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.

Chemical weapons watchdog 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.

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.”

Arias said the meetings had focused on Syria’s re-

sponsibilities under the Chemical Weapons Convention and on the support OPCW could offer in “eliminating the remnants of Syria’s chemical weapons program.”

“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magniﬁcent in a really magniﬁcent area,”

Trump said while sitting next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.

Trump said the 2 million Palestinian residents of Gaza would have to move.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, was asked about the idea 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 military, which Trump wouldn’t rule out

But his press secretary Karoline Leavitt, dismissed “the premise” of that question during a White House news conference Wednesday

“The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza. He has also said that the United States is not going to pay for the rebuilding of Gaza,” Leavitt said. “His administration is going to work with our partners in the region to reconstruct this region. And let me just take a step back here because this is an out-of-the-box idea. That’s who President Trump is.”

“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 reduced a deeply complex humanitarian crisis to a real estate deal. Calling for the transformation of a war-ravaged land into a playground for the wealthy is not a peace plan — it’s an insult to those who have endured immense hardship and loss.”

Freeman back after cancer treatment

State Rep. Aimee Freeman underwent chemotherapy and surgery for breast cancer late last year which forced her to miss November’s special session on taxes.

But now Freeman, a second-term Democrat who 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. 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.”

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

CAPITOL BUZZ staff reports

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

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 DCalif., 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 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 rightwing House Freedom Caucus. Louisiana’s only current Freedom Caucus member, U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, RLafayette, 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 “We’re not going to eradicate anything.”

ABC’s“ThisWeek”: Sen. Chris Murphy, DConn.; Rep. Mike Turner R-Ohio.

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

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 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

SUNDAY NEWS SHOWS

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 animals and the growth of energy exploration as south Louisiana’s major employer, led to a dramatic decrease in the

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

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

COME

FEBRUARY

Adinkra Symbol Exploration

FEB 11

In Dialogue: Sharing aLove of Reading With Your Child

FEB 14

We LOVE LCM Math Activities

FEB 15

Chemistry Experiments with Xavier University

FEB 15

Ti Piti: ALouisiana Musical-CulturalHour with LesCenelles

FEB. 15

Reading of Buzzing with Questions: The InquisitiveMind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington

FEB 20

Sensory-Friendly Playtime

FEB 22

Adinkra &New Orleans Architecture withMaster Craft Culture Bearers

DarrylA.Reevesand Jonn E. Hankins

FEB 22

Creating Healthy Communities at LCMWellness Workshop (FREE)

FEB 22 &23

Mardi Gras Masquerade Wiggle Party

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-per-hour 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.

For more information or tickets,

Mark Ballard

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Matuszak legendarily broke curfew here at Super Bowl XV in 1981 and was spotted dancing and carousing at 3 a.m. just a few nights before the big game.

Former Bears defensive end Dan Hampton once told the story of having a beer at the Old Absinthe House before Super Bowl XX, where he tried to vouch for the character of teammate Jim McMahon.

“I was telling everybody in the joint, ‘Jim’s not a bad guy,’” Hampton said to USA Today “‘He’s just a little on the edge In fact, he’s probably in bed right now, studying his playbook.’

“No sooner had I said that, when McMahon walks by wearing sunglasses with blinking psychedelic lights and a cap with an antenna, holding a beer in each hand.”

Former Saints quarterback Billy Kilmer called the Old Absinthe House his “ofﬁce” during his fouryear playing stint in New Orleans from 1967 to 1970 Saints players, coaches and executives regularly held court at the bar and restaurant in those days.

Tom Dempsey courted his future wife, Courtney, here. His Philadelphia Eagles helmets and one of his right shoes still hang from the bar’s ceiling today

“I loved it,” said former Saints owner John Mecom, who frequented the bar and restaurant during his tenure from 1966 to 1985.

“There are 11,000 bars in New Orleans, and I probably made all of them, but we always ended up back at Old Absinthe House It was our fantasy of what New Orleans should be like.”

You won’t ﬁnd nearly as many NFL players, owners and executives in the Old Absinthe House this week. Super Bowls have changed dramatically over the years. Exclusive VIP parties and private corporate events have proliferated and taken over the week of festivities. But as Friday’s crowd attested, the Old Absinthe House remains a popular hot spot for visitors and locals alike

“This is a New Orleans institution,” said Mike Parks, 61 a New Orleans attorney who stopped in for a pop with his wife, Julie, before heading to the light show at St. Louis Cathedral. Business at the bar “took a hit” ﬁnancially after the Jan. 1 attacks on Bourbon Street. Some of the 14 victims were mowed down just outside the Old Absinthe House’s wooden arched doors, which were closed just minutes before the attack occurred at 3:14 a.m. In anticipation of the Super Bowl crush, Aubert ordered extra supplies and alcohol. She anticipates and hopes the bar might have to extend beyond its traditional 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. hours of operation.

Things certainly seemed to be trending that way on Thursday and Friday night.

“If your team is going to miss the Super Bowl and you still have to go, there’s no better city you’d want to be in than New Orleans,” said Ryan Ferdon, a British Lions fan decked in a blue No. 58 Penei Sewell jersey “We wouldn’t have gone someplace else. But this city — and this place — are amazing.”

A day earlier, a trio of longtime Chiefs fans, just off the plane from Mis-

souri, threw back a round of beers and admired the scene around them. They bought their Super Bowl LIX tickets online as they walked out of Arrowhead Stadium after watching their beloved Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game. The rental apartment they booked on St. Ann Street was conveniently located a few blocks away from the Old Absinthe House.

“We went to the Super Bowl last year in Phoenix, and it was kind of basic, ho-hum,” said Eric Hall,

57, of Oak Grove, Missouri, a longtime Chiefs fan wearing a red “Keep the Beads. We’re Here for Rings” T-shirt. “This is going to be more of a party.”

Added Charles Kunkel, 58, of Greenwood, Missouri, while waving his hands around the roiling crowd: “Here’s the difference: We ate at Applebee’s after the game in Glendale (Arizona). Now, we’re here!”

Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@theadvocate. com.

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

Averagemonthly usageisup 6%YoY perVerizonHome Internethousehold

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.”

Continued from page 8A

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

The Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street in the New Orleans French Quarter on Friday during Super Bowl LIX week.

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.

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 superyachts 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 Orleans-born 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 offputting. 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 cream-colored 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.

Researchers concerned by Trump’s DEI order

Fears grow of political influence over grants

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 rescind-

ed 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 Graves, a biology professor 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.

DEATHS continued from

Larry specialized in strategy and dealmaking for nationalretail concepts coming to the Gulf South. Many of these national retail concepts that are now familiarinthis region found success from their relationships with Larry. He was also asuccessful retail developer and amentor to many who learned success under his guidance. During Larry's early work yearsand first marriage,hehad two beautiful daughters, Randi Rabin Karotkin (Jesse) and Dr. Lauren Rabin Blair (Jon). He taught the importance of relationships, love, and living with passion to the next generation. With his mustache in tow, Larry also taught his daughters how to play basketball and how to throw amean spiral. His lessons of good character, hard workand determination prepared them for success in life that they and their families enjoy. And now back to Ann. After an almost 20 year hiatus, one that is necessary for this storyasitprovided Ann with her two wonderful children, Richard Weber (Rebecca) and MaggieWeber,the fabric was now in placefor Ann and Larry to weave together their two families. These combined families have been together for 36 years. Many spaghetti noodles found their way stuck above the family dinner table on the ceiling in the early years. Mandatory 'Family Outings' meant six Rabins and Webersin Larry's little sedanand, by sheer will, Ann and Larry brought this family together. It would be fun, they said. Well, it worked. Maybe through their shared love for one another, maybe because this was apath that was meant to be, fun was had. Lifelong relationships were established andthey became afamily. This has continued to the next generation as Ann and Larry, who became Mimi and Pops, welcomed seven grandchildren, Mica, Zev, James, Fox, Judah, Dylan, and Henry. This generation will teachthe next Larry's valuable lessons of "can do." Blending afamily of many personality types could not have been an easy startfor this relationship, but Ann and Larry's love for one another made it work. Love conquers. Ann and Larry loved to travel together,share great meals with friends and family, cheer on the Saints andLSU,and enjoy the wonderful things that the city of New Orleans has to offer,all while trying their best to keep their children out of trouble. They were devoted to one another until the end. Through Larry's declining health these last few years, Ann remained by his side -aswife, best friend, confidant, cheerleader, and caregiver.Their faith and love of family, friendships, and an appreciation for life gave them strength. Ann was blessed to have tremendous help with Larry's care from Laura Hill, Shirella Ray, Demetrious Gaunichaux, Ivera Jones, and William Bridges who all became part of the family as they ensured his comfort and dignity. His medical team, including Dr. Charles Smith and Dr. Stephen Kantrow, provided expertcarefor a patient with complicated health challenges. We will forever be grateful for all of the wonderful medical professionals who stepped intoshow Larry love and support as he faced new challenges thatcame his way. With his head held high, he took everychance he could to enjoy life with friends and family. He was truly inspirational to so many.

travel together, share great meals with friends and family, cheer on the Saints and LSU, and enjoy the wonderful things that the city of New Orleans has to offer, all while trying their best to keep their children out of trouble. They were devoted to one another until the end. Through Larry's declining health these last few years, Ann remained by his side -aswife, best friend, confidant, cheerleader, and caregiver. Their faith and love of family, friendships, and an appreciation for life gave them strength. Ann was blessed to have tremendous help with Larry's care from Laura Hill, Shirella Ray, Demetrious Gaunichaux, Ivera Jones, and William Bridges who all became part of the family as they ensured his comfort and dignity. His medical team, including Dr. Charles Smith and Dr. Stephen Kantrow, provided expert care for a patient with complicated health challenges. We will forever be grateful for all of the wonderful medical professionals who stepped in to show Larry love and support as he faced new challenges that came his way. With his head held high, he took every chance he could to enjoy life with friends and family. He was truly inspirational to so many. Larry's devotion to Newman School, and especially his cherished class of '67, led his classmates to establish the Larry Rabin Scholarship Fund and honored him with being 'President for Life' of their class for his unwavering dedication in keeping his classmates connected. Larry filled his days with courage, love, and faith. Rabbi Katie Bauman of Touro Synagogue, alifelong family friend, became Larry's spiritual leader. This relationship provided Larry with adeeper faith that gave him strength and resolve as his challenges increased. Larry's zest for life, his ability to make others laugh, resilience, and love of friends and family will remain an inspiration to us all. How can we ever forget his quick wit and sidesplitting sense of humor? He instilled these values in the next generation to share with the next. We will do our best to live up to the good character by which Larry lived his life. You will be missed, Pops. Love remains. In his honor, donations may be made to: Isidore Newman School, Class of 1967 Larry Rabin Scholarship Fund-1903 Jefferson Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115; Touro Synagogue, Rabbi Bauman's Discretionary Fund, 4238 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115; Museum of Southern Jewish Experience, PO Box 15071, New Orleans, LA 70175. Visitation will begin at 12:00 PM at Touro Synagogue on Monday February 10th with aservice to follow at 1pm. So many of you have provided friendship and love to Larry and his family through the years, and these indelible relationships will forever be cherished. In

author,

lectual light, died peacefully in the arms of family on Saturday evening February 1st at Ochsner Foundation Hospital, after along struggle with heart failure. Born in New Orleans, Bill grew up on Esplanade Avenue, where he attended McDonogh 28 grammar school. Later, he stoutly

Larry's devotion to Newman School, and especially his cherished class of '67, led his classmates to establish the Larry Rabin Scholarship Fund and honored him with being 'President for Life' of their class for his unwavering dedication in keeping his classmates connected. Larry filled his days with courage, love, and faith. Rabbi Katie Bauman of Touro Synagogue, alifelong family friend, became Larry's spiritual leader. This relationship provided Larry with adeeper faith that gave him strength and resolve as his challenges increased. Larry's zest for life, his ability to make others laugh, resilience, and love of friends and family will remain an inspiration to us all. How can we ever forget his quickwit and sidesplitting sense of humor? He instilled these values in the next generation to sharewith the next. We will do our best to live up to the good character by which Larry lived his life. You will be missed, Pops. Love remains.

In his honor,donations may be made to: Isidore Newman School, Class of 1967 Larry Rabin Scholarship Fund-1903 Jefferson Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115; Touro

the late Dr. Richard Alfred Reeves, abiochemist with the Southern Regional Research Lab in New Orleans, and the late Jean Haver Reeves, asuperb homemaker, cook, and president of the New Orleans League of Women Voters; along with his sister, retired mathematician Judy Reeves, and his brother, architect Michael Reeves. He learned sailing on the legendary sailboat Ceely, awooden, gaffrigged sloop built on Bayou St. John the year of Bill's birth. He became an expert in sailing competition at the Bay Waveland Yacht Club,

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO ByTERRy CHEA

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

Reeves, William Dale

William Dale Reeves, 83,

historian, and intel-

PHILADELPHIA

AGLES (14-3)

STAFF

PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

A giant football on the front of a float passes the St. Louis Cathedral during the Super Bowl LIX Host Committee Parade in New Orleans on Saturday.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Chiefs fans wave for beads on Decatur Street as the host parade rolls through New Orleans.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER A Philadelphia Eagles float rolls in the parade Saturday.

Homeland Security is on the lookout as the parade rolls down Decatur Street.

STAFF PHOTO JAVIER GALLEGOS Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders wave the team’s flag during the host parade.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Saints running back Alvin Kamara rides on the front of a Verizon float, throwing out beads to paradegoers.

The 610 Stompers dance on Decatur Street during the Super Bowl LIX Host Committee Parade.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

The Tulane marching band plays their way down the street as the parade takes over the French Quarter

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Percy ‘Master P’ Miller throws beads on the front of a float with Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

CAESARS SUPERDOME • NEW ORL EANS K ANSAS CIT y CHIEFS (15-2) VS. PHILADELPHIA E AGLES (14-3)

Continued from page 1A

Tickets were free, but attendees needed to preregister

He Gets Us, the event’s title sponsor, is a religious advertising campaign that has spent millions to run commercials during Super Bowls and other high-proﬁle sporting events.

A nonprofit organization called Come Near manages He Gets Us campaigns. According to its website, “the movement is not funded by or afﬁliated with any single individual, political position, church, or faith denomination.”

The 2024 Super Bowl ad from He Gets Us, titled “Foot Washing,” was inspired by Biblical accounts of Jesus either washing others’ feet or his own feet being washed.

The campaign will run a 60-second commercial during the ﬁrst half of Sunday’s Super Bowl titled “What Is Greatness?”

He Gets Us also hosted a free festival ahead of last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas. For this year’s event, the organization partnered with Batiste, whose music is meant to promote unity and love.

The festival site occupied a vast ﬁeld in a back corner of the Carver High campus. He Gets Us did not skimp on the production. The big stage included two video screens.

Admission wristbands included a token for free food and a bottle of water from one of 10 food booths, including stands for The Yakamein Lady, Squeal’s Smoke Street Catering, Akasia’s Café and Brocato’s Kitchen.

From the sunny warm weather to the crowd’s attire to the rows of portable toilets, it felt like a scaled-down New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Just before 3 p.m., Batiste appeared onstage in a glittering cream-colored shirt and thanked He Gets Us for putting on the festival.

“We really wanted to do something that meant something for home,” he said. “It’s not just about the Super Bowl. It’s about all of y’all.”

Jon Batiste, with the Gospel Soul Choir, performs during Jon Batiste’s Love Riot Festival, a ‘day of hope and celebration’ on the campus of George Washington Carver High School in New Orleans’ 9th Ward on Saturday in advance of Super Bowl LIX. He Gets Us, the event’s title sponsor, is a religious advertising campaign that has spent millions to run commercials during Super Bowls and other high-profile sporting events. It will air a commercial during Sunday’s game.

With that, he introduced Craig Adams and the Gospel Soul Children, who made up roughly half of the two dozen singers

and musicians who would back Batiste and his parade of special guests.

First up was Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and his grandson, J’Wan Boudreaux. They chanted “Big Chief like plenty of ﬁre water” over a rolling groove. Batiste took a seat at a white piano to lead “Go to the Mardi Gras.” Drummer and singer Jamison Ross took a turn out front.

Thirty minutes into the show, the ensemble eased into “We Are,” the title track of Batiste’s 2021 album, which essentially changed his life by winning the Grammy Award for album of the year The arrangement on Saturday, with a nifty trombone garnishment, took full advantage of the singers and musicians onstage.

Tarriona “Tank” Ball, whose Tank and the Bangas just won a Grammy for best

spoken word poetry album, took over the microphone for the spoken word segment of the Bangas’ “Black Folk.” Batiste then went back to “We Are” for an especially exuberant “Freedom.” With the Gospel Soul Children chiming in on “let me see you wobble,” Batiste’s dancers did just that.

Next it was Ledisi’s turn “We’re going to do a song I don’t know,” she announced. But she had the lyrics to the Beatles’ “Come Together” pulled up on her phone and seemed right at home. She wailed the words and Batiste’s guitarist wailed a solo.

Three generations of Nevilles — Cyril, Ivan and Omari led a big “Big Chief,” with Batiste on vocals.

As a Learjet leaving the Lakefront Airport arced overhead a reminder that yes, the Super Bowl is in town — the ensemble went deep New Orleans with “Mardi Gras Mambo.” Batiste added a melodica solo.

Preservation Hall drummer Shannon Powell, still recovering from a stroke he suffered in August, led “L’il Liza Jane” as the TBC Brass Band pitched in. Rapper Dee-1 thanked Batiste for letting God “shine through just like that sun.” Dee-1 led the crowd in a refrain of “be real, be righteous, be relevant.”

Keeping with the hip-hop vibe, Flavor Flav bounded onstage with a diamond-encrusted clock swinging from his neck. He led a revamped version of Public Enemy’s “9-1-1 Is a Joke.” It fell to Batiste to bring it all home with “I Need You.” And then, melodica in hand, he led the musicians, singers and members of the Nine Times social aid and pleasure club off the stage and out onto the festival grounds.

With the crowd and cameras pressed in around him, he led the procession on a long loop. It ended with him playing a plaintive “When the Saints Go Marching In” just for the beneﬁt of those within earshot. He’ll sing for a TV audience of many millions on Sunday

Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

Dawn Vincent of New Orleans talks to friends during Jon Batiste’s Love Riot Festival.

Jay Sevin, left, and Susan Lavie, both of New Orleans, enjoy a dish of free food on Saturday.

Jon Batiste performs ‘Freedom’ during Jon Batiste’s Love Riot Festival, a ‘day of hope and celebration’ on the campus of George Washington Carver High School, in New Orleans’ 9th Ward on Saturday.

Artist Floyd Falcon uses paints and canvas to document the scene during Jon Batiste’s Love Riot Festival on Saturday.

Big Chief Monk Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles performs during the festival on Saturday.

STAFF PHOTOS By SCOTTTHRELKELD

his students remembering him fondly along life's later pathways. During those years, he co-founded the New Orleans Coalition supporting the local Civil Rights movement. He was also elected to the Orleans Parish School Board, serving two terms.

As ayouth, Bill spent idyllic summers at the family's vacation homein Bay St. Louis, with his parents, the late Dr. Richard Alfred Reeves, abiochemist with the Southern Regional Research Lab in New Orleans, and the late Jean Haver Reeves, asuperb homemaker, cook, and president of the New Orleans League of Women Voters; along with his sister, retired mathematician Judy Reeves, and his brother, architect Michael Reeves. He learned sailing on the legendary sailboat Ceely, awooden, gaffrigged sloop builtonBayou St. John the year of Bill's birth. He became an expert in sailing competition at the Bay Waveland Yacht Club, where he skippered the club's first of numerous Thomas J. Lipton Cup championships, winningin both the Fish and Flying Scott classes

Bill also directed the American Bicentennial in New Orleans, cofounded the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, co-founded the Churchill Society of New Orleans, created alocal Jane Austen club, and founded the present book club of the New Orleans Round Table Club. He loved reading, repeatedly returning to his favorite novel,Di Lampedusa's The Leopard. In his middle years, he worked as aprivate historian, composing numerous publications for clients, among many, De LaBarre: Life of aCreole Family; Paths to Distinction (biographies of Dr. James White, and Chief Justice EdwardDouglass White); and later, Historic Louisiana, ageneral history of the state. With his wife, SallyKittredge Reeves, he authored Historic City Park: New Orleans, and more recently, NotableNew Orleanians: ATricentennial Tribute.

and admiredhim, inspired by his patient demeanor and the love he expressed by countless actions. A convert to Catholicism,he was aloyal supporter of Holy Name of Jesus Parish, where his "Great Amens" were legendary. Anear polymath, he was a formidable bread baker, also adept in plumbing repairs, electrical wiring, and furniture mending, Adog lover, Bill with hiswife adopted ten orphan dogs at various times, including the great white shepherd Zoey, who is sadly missing him now. Late in life,Bill crossed the Mississippi up to four timesweeklyto walk shelterdogs at the SPCA's West Bank facility.

He is survived by Sally, his wife of 45 years, his daughter Elena Reeves Walker(Russ), hisson Richard A. Reeves (Nicole) of Tallahassee,Florida, his sister Judy and brother Michael (Georgia), Corinne Evans Judd (Rick), Hugh McCloskeyEvans, III (Sarah Labouisse), of New Orleans; Mark McCloskey Evans (Anne Coady)ofSt. Louis; CharlesKittredge Evans, and ColleenEvans Lusignan (Greg) of New Orleans; and grandchildren, Isabella and Analise Walker, Lyle Reeves; Eleonore, Alexander, Sidonie and Mignon Evans of New Orleans; Emily, Andrew, Mary, and Sean Evans of St. Louis; Isabelle, Olivia, Lily and Tyler Lusignan of New Orleans; and Ashley Judd of Baton Rouge.

The family wouldlike to thank the medical teams at Ochsner Baptist and OchsnerFoundation Hospitals, particularly Palliative Care physician Dr. Sarah Lee, whose kindness, leadership, and professionalism remain unmatched.

AMass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Name of Jesus Church on Friday, February 14, at 12:30 p.m., with Visitation beginning at 11:00 a.m.,followed by areception at home. Interment at Metairie Cemetery will be private

Roussell, Joan Verrett

Joan Camille Verrett Roussell was born on November 15, 1938. She transitioned on February 2, 2025. She is preceded in death by her husband,Dr. Norward Roussell, and her parents, Edna and John Verrett.

Joan graduated from St. Mary's Academy in 1956. She was St. Augustine High School's first (1955) homecoming queen. Joan graduated from Xavier University in 1960. She met Norward Roussell during the couple's first year teaching at Derham Jr. High. Norward and Joan married on May 6, 1961 at Corpus ChristiCatholic Church.

Joan was amember of the New Orleans chapter of The Links, Incorporated and attended St.Maria Goretti Catholic Church.

Joan is survived by her sister, Francine Verrett, brother-in-law Norman (Dorothy) Roussell, and sister-in-law Ada Anderson, twosons Eric (Mina) Roussell and Norman (Dionne) Roussell, daughter, Melanie (Ronald) Newman, five grandchildren, and ahost of extended family and friends.

AFuneral Mass was held in Selma, AL on Saturday, February 8, 2025. ANew Orleans Visitation will take place on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 from 9-11 a.m. at Charbonnet-LabatGlapion funeral home, 1615 St. Phillip St. Interment will immediately follow at Mt Olivet Cemetery, 4000 Norman Mayer Blvd, New Orleans, LA

Parish Public School System for 33 years at Westwego Elementary, Greenlawn Terrace Elementary and Chateau Estates Elementary. She was an active member of the Metairie Baptist Church. As per her wishes there will be no service. To view and sign the online guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.c om

Boyd

where he enjoyed many seasons with life-long friends. Sam cultivated an appreciation of the joys of the marsh and Death Val‐ley in two generations of nephews The family would like to thank Sunrise Senior Living of Metairie for the care provided to Sam over the past three years. Rela‐tives and friends are in‐vited to a Memorial Service and Celebration of Life on Wednesday, February 12 2025 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m at L.A Muhleisen & Son Funeral Home, 2607 Williams Blvd., Kenner, LA A Private Burial will be held at a later date To share memories or condolences please visit www muhleisen.com

Sutherland, Thomas P. 'Tom'

his grandchildren and watching them play sports. Tom

Bill's erudite but kindly disposition earned the respect of all who knew him. His seven children loved and admired him, inspired by his patient demeanor and the love he expressed by countless actions.A convert to Catholicism,he were formidable so furniture the him crossed to walk SPCA's his daughter Walker Richard of sister Michael Evans McCloskey (Sarah Orleans; Evans Louis; Evans, Lusignan Orleans; dren, Walker, Eleonore, Sidonie of Andrew, Evans Olivia, Lusignan and Rouge. thank at Ochsner Hospitals, Palliative Dr. ness, fessionalism remain unmatched.

Schurmann, Ellie Louise Ellie Louise Schurmann died on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at theage of 80. She was born on November 28, 1944, in Metairie, LA to Paul and Virgie Thornhill Schurmann who preceded her in death. Ellie taught in the Jefferson Parish Public School System for 33 years at Westwego Elementary, Greenlawn Terrace Elementary and Chateau

Samuel Boyd Stephens passed away on Monday February 3, 2025 at the age of 79. He was born in Co‐lumbia Mississippi and raised in Kenner, Louisiana He was pre‐ceded in death by his fa‐ther, Thomas James Stephens, his mother, Dixie Christine Lawless, his brother, Thomas James Stephens Jr and his beloved dog, Natchez He is survived by his brothers Pat and John Stephens and three generations of nieces and nephews He was a graduate of East Jefferson High School Louisiana State University, and LSU Law School He was a vet‐eran of the United States Army and served at Fort Monmouth NJ. Sam had a long career in the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Court Sys‐tem serving as a public de‐fender and hearing ofﬁcer and was a member of the Jefferson Bar Association Sam valued family ties, friendship and comradery He was a keeper of family history and traditions He embraced the natural, cul‐tural and athletic seasons of South Louisiana with a passion. He was a dedi‐cated LSU Tiger Fan longtime season ticket holder, and accomplished tail‐gater, following his beloved Tigers around the country. He was also a founding member of Camp Not Enough Duck Club where he enjoyed many seasons with life-long friends Sam cultivated an appreciation of the joys of the marsh and Death Val‐ley in two generations of

Thomas "Tom" P. Sutherland, DDS, passed away peacefully on February 2, 2025, in Covington,Louisiana. He was 77 years old.

Born on August 23, 1947, in Macon,Georgia, Tom graduated from Cathedral High School in Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1965, where he was an outstanding basketball player and named to the All-State team. He then earned a basketball scholarship to Loyola University. Hisaspirations to attendLoyola Dental School were redirected when the dental school closed its doors. Undeterred, he transferred to LouisianaState University to complete his undergraduate studies and achieve his dream of becoming adentist, graduating from theLSU School of Dentistry in 1976.

Tom dedicated over three decades to his dental practice in Mandeville, Louisiana, enjoyinghis patients andtending to his award-winning butterfly garden outside his office. Above all else, he delighted in spending time with his grandchildren and watching them play sports.

Tom is survived by his beloved wife of 48 years, Denise (DeGruy)

AMass of Christian Burial will be celebratedat Holy Name of Jesus Church on Friday, February 14, at 12:30 p.m., with Visitation beginning at 11:00 a.m., followed by areception at home. Interment Metairie Cemetery will private.

Stephens, Samuel

Tracy III, William R.

William R. "Rusty" Tracy III passed away on February 3, 2025, at the age of 66. He was born on September 14, 1958, in New Orleans, Louisiana. After graduatingcollege, he went on to assist his father in running Jefferson Variety Store, sellingfabric and Mardi Gras supplies. Rusty had afondness for all things Carnival. He was afloat lieutenant of theSt. Patrick Parade of Metairie, arider in theKrewe of Amor in Chalmette, and a King of the Krewe of Pan in Chalmette. He was an avid Saints fan and alongtime

arider in the Krewe of Amor in Chalmette, and a King of the Krewe of Pan in Chalmette. He was an avid Saints fan and alongtime season ticket holder. In his free time, he loved to travel -especially to Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, family trips, and Saints away games.

He was aparishioner of St. Agnes CatholicChurch. Rusty was preceded in death by his parents, William Jr. and Evelyn DeJean Tracy; and sisters, Jennifer Jewell (Daniel) and Susan T. Leiva (Filemon).

He is survived by his beloved wife of 47 years, Lisa Murray Tracy; daughters, Michelle T. Fairchild (Wayne) and Roxanne T. Baracco (Thompson "T.J "); son, Scott W. Tracy (Lauren); grandchildren, Austin W., Gracie L., and Samantha J. Fairchild, William J.,Noah M. Baracco, andDecker E. and Logan T. Tracy; as wellas ahost of nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of CCU and SICU of East Jefferson Hospital.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Funeral Mass, officiated by Rev. Dennis Hayes, in the chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 PontchartrainBlvd in New Orleans, on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 1PM. Visitation will begin at 10 AM. After the chapel service, Rusty willbelaid to rest in Metairie Cemetery. To view and sign the family guestbook, please visit lakelawnmetairie.com

Toni Ann Tregre Vaughan left this earth February 3rd to become a citizen of God's glorious kingdom. Toni,a resident of Baton Rouge was preceded in death by her father, Euclid Tregre. She's survived by mother, Bonnie Riché Tregre and sister Donna (David) Abadie. She also leaves behind in-laws, Vivian Vaughan and Bryan Vaughan. She was mother of Cory (Toni) Albers and Fawn (Lane) Foster. She was Gi Gi to Aidyn Nolting(23), Brooklyn(16), Ethan Foster(21), Sadie(17), Aubrey and Andy Albers(6). She was the wife to Russell. Together they were parents of Rascal Also survived by numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins and lifelong friends. Toni was employed by CMA Technology Solutions. Services will be 2/13/25 at Lake Lawn Funeral Home 10:00 a.m. with Mass at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Friends of the Animals Baton Rouge and L.O.P.A. in Toni's memory.

Jean Marie Vegas passed away on December 5, 2024 from seizures. She was bornonMay 13, 1946 in New Orleans to Cliven and Bernice Vegas (both deceased). Jean is survived by her brother, Paul Vegas (Betty, deceased), sister, Elizabeth Vegas, and sons, Keith and Travis Penn and sister Marie Vegas Mischler (Karl)and children Katie and Kevin Mischler as well asher very dear friend Elizabeth Ohmer Pellegrin. Jean was aBuddhist for 37 years and is survived by many friends. Jean graduated from UNO with aBachelor of Science and Master's Degree in Education. Her favorite flowers were tulips and her favorite color was yellow, so she requests everyone wear bright colors, instead of black, to her Celebration of Life. The family wants to extend aspecial thanks to PassagesHospice for the great careJean received. Jean's Celebration of Life will be on February 15, 2025 at SGI Community Center, 1331 Prytania St., New Orleans, LA and will begin at 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Interment to follow at Hope Mausoleum, 4841 Canal St., New Orleans, LA Arrangements entrusted to Bagnell &Son Funeral Home Covington, Louisiana. To view and sign the guest book, please visit Bagnellfh@gmail.com.

Charles

Charles HeartmanVeith (6/07/1945-12/31/2024) was born and raised in New Orleans. He wasprecededindeath by hisparents, Paul Frederick Veith and Mary Morse Veith, and his wife of 32 years, Patricia Flynn Veith, as well as siblings William Ronald Maynard, Martha Veith Smith, and Suzanne Mimi Veith, and brother-inlaw Richard E. O'Brien. He is survivedbyhis son, Michael Veith, and siblings Mary Veith O'Brien and Dr. Robert Woody Veith, sisters-in-law Robin Gautreau Veith and Deborah Marchadie Maynard, as well as many nieces and nephews.

After graduating in 1963 from WarrenEaston High School in New Orleans, he attended LSU andotherinstitutions of higher education, ultimately receiving a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston in 1981. He also attaineda master's in business administration from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio in 1998. He enlisted in the Navy Reservesin1965 and attained the rank of Chief Petty Officerwhile assigned to VP 94 in Belle Chase,LA. He retired from the Navy after 30 years of service. He never missed a chance to put on hisuniform for various occasions, such as flag retirement ceremonies, Veterans Day ceremonies, and veterans' dinners with the old group from VP94. He had along career working for multiple successive construction companies in Metairie,LA, Baton Rouge, LA, and Houston, TX as aProject Estimator, performing detailed and exact cost accounting.

In 1975, he relocatedto Houston where he metthe love of his life, Patricia Flynn, later marrying in 1977. He enjoyeda wonderful marriage with her until her untimely death in 2009. Because of her, he converted to Catholicism and became active in the church and its charitable activities, including the Knights of Columbus where he excelled in leadership. The "Chief" attained the rank of Grand Knight twice at St. Cyril Catholic Council. He then was encouragedtogotothe next level as aDistrict Deputy, overseeing five councils. He was also elected to Faithful Navigator for the Eucharistic Adoration Assembly. PlayingSanta Claus at children's hospital was his most enjoyable time Charlie was alsoinvolvedwith the youth at church leading the

signed to VP 94 in Belle Chase, LA. He retired from the Navy after 30 years of service. He never missed a chance to put on his uniform for various occasions, such as flag retirement ceremonies, Veterans Day ceremonies, and veterans' dinners with the oldgroup from VP94.

He had along career working for multiple successive constructioncompanies in Metairie, LA, Baton Rouge, LA, and Houston, TX as aProject Estimator, performing detailed and exact cost accounting.

The "Chief" attained the rank of Grand Knight twice at St. Cyril Catholic Council. He then was encouraged to go to the next level as aDistrict Deputy, overseeing fivecouncils. He was also elected to Faithful Navigator for the Eucharistic Adoration Assembly. Playing Santa Claus at children's hospital was his most enjoyable time.

Charlie was also involved with the youthat church leading the Kerygma retreats. He also was involved in state party politics serving on various committees at state conventions.

He will be missed by many. He was laid to rest on February 1, 2025 in Houston, TX.

Kenneth “Kenny” Stan‐ton Vogt was born in New Orleans and passed away on January 30, 2025, at the age of 72. Son of the late Stanton P. Vogt, Jr and Kate Borne Vogt and twin brother of the late Kath‐leen Vogt. Son-in-law of late Marvin and Pat Matherne Kenny is s vived by his wife of years, Stephanie “Ste Matherne Vogt two dren, Kenneth S. Vogt (Leigh Anne) and Amy Vo Steib (Devin), four gra children: Kenneth "Tr Vogt, III, Mary-Kate V Allister Steib and “K Steib and brother, Stan P Vogt, III. Brother-inof Carla Kittrell (Ron Marvin Matherne, (Leila), Shelly Sehlin (Lonnie) and Alison (Greg). Godfather of Sarah Martin and uncle of Caitlyn Saylor Megan Kittrell Cody Matherne, Troy Sehlinger and Ashley Ellis He retired from Sheet Metal Local 214 (formerly 11) after 50 years of ser‐vice and resided in Metairie, following his re‐tirement Kenny will al‐ways be remembered as readily available to help others having a heart of gold and as the best “Ziggy” to his grandchil‐dren. Kenny valued his family and friends, he en‐joyed detailing his model boat, spending summers in Bay St Louis, annual vaca‐tions to Gulf Shores with friends from Chalmette gardening tomatoes, lis‐tening to Elvis Presley’s music, antique car shows and painting rooﬁng slates Kenny prioritized his grandchildren’s school events fairs band con‐certs and dance recitals His stories laughter and advice will be missed the most Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Memorial Mass at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Febru‐ary 12, 2025 at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church, 2320 Paris Road, Chal‐mette LA 70043. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m In‐terment will immediately follow in St. Bernard Memorial Gardens. Arrangements entrusted to Tharp Funeral Home. Ex‐pressions of love and sym‐pathy may be viewed and placed at www tharpcares com.

“Ziggy” to his grandchil‐

dren Kenny valued his family and friends, he en‐

joyed detailing his model boat, spending summers in Bay St. Louis annual vaca‐tions to Gulf Shores with friends from Chalmette, gardening tomatoes lis‐tening to Elvis Presley’s music antique car shows and painting rooﬁng slates. Kenny prioritized his grandchildren’s school events, fairs band con‐certs and dance recitals His stories, laughter and advice will be missed the most. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Memorial Mass at 11:00 a.m on Wednesday, Febru‐ary 12, 2025 at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church 2320 Paris Road, Chal‐mette LA 70043. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m In‐terment will immediately follow in St Bernard Memorial Gardens Arrangements entrusted to Tharp Funeral Home Ex‐pressions of love and sym‐pathy may be viewed and placed at www tharpcares com

Cheryl Coquille Zettler, amom, grandma, sister, aunt, dear friend to many, champion of 5-day stew, lifelong fisherwoman and teacher, passed away peacefully on January 26, 2025, in Seattle, WA at home. She leaves ahuge hole in our hearts, but we're beyond grateful for some very sweet,silly and "typically Cheryl" moments lately.

Unwavering. Loyal. Silly. Sharp.Creative. Brutally honest.Dependable. Strong willed. Competitive. Fierce advocator for common sense. No onewould argue that Cheryl approached everything at 200%, no less. She was unapologetically herself and excelled at everything she put her mind to. Her professional path led her from high school Latin and English teacher, to bookkeeper, IRS assistor, programmer and systems educator, ESL volunteer, entrepreneur, metal-worker and jewelry designer. Her passion for perfect grammar, studying, learning, re-

home. She leaves ahuge hole in our hearts, but we're beyond grateful for some very sweet, silly and "typically Cheryl" moments lately. Unwavering. Loyal. Silly. Sharp. Creative. Brutally honest. Dependable. Strong willed. Competitive. Fierce advocator for common sense. No onewould argue that Cheryl approached everything at 200%, no less. She was unapologetically herself and excelled at everything she put her mindto. Her professional path led her from high school Latin and English teacher, to bookkeeper, IRS assistor, programmer and systems educator, ESL volunteer, entrepreneur, metal-worker and jewelry designer. Her passion for perfect grammar, studying, learning, researching and documenting everything was intense. With focus and competitive spirit only matched by her husband of 55 years, Greg Zettler, together they were an unstoppable partnership in Lightningsailboat races, bridge tournaments, salmon trolling, fly fishing, crabbing, parenting and preparing me (their only child) to handle most anything, including this moment. Despite the last 10 years of meetings, Big Talks, andbinders full of notes and handwritten details andcareful planning for which I'm incredibly grateful, their loss is immense.

Beneath the"All Bidness" exterior, Cheryl wasalways asuper silly soul with an eccentric sense of humor and infectious laugh. She absolutely loved her life-long friends spanning back to her own school age, friends who helped adjusting to the PNW from NOLA, her Bellevue, WA volunteering and neighborhood friends, longtime sailing friends, ESCA friends, and crazy Golden Girls bridge friends and their wild trips together where her stomach hurt from laughing so much.

As some of you know, deep down Cheryl dreamt of being asultry nightclub singer and imagined herself belting out something while sprawled across a piano. She got close to this as afounding member and backup singer for the "DB Defs" aband of cool nerds who performed at the ESCA holiday party.

Talks, and binders full of notes and handwritten details and careful planning for which I'mincredibly grateful, their loss is immense.

Beneaththe "All Bidness" exterior, Cheryl was always asuper silly soul with an eccentric sense of humor and infectious laugh. She absolutely loved her life-long friends spanning back to her own school age, friends who helped adjusting to the PNW from NOLA, her Bellevue, WA volunteering and neighborhood friends, longtime sailing friends, ESCA friends, and crazy Golden Girls bridge friends and their wild tripstogether where her stomach hurt from laughing so much.

//www.emmickfunerals.co m/obituary/Cheryl-Zettler for details or to message the family.

and their wild trips together where herstomach hurt from laughing so much. As some of you know, deep downCheryl dreamt of being asultry nightclub singer and imagined herself belting out something while sprawled across a piano. She got close to this as afounding member and backup singer for the "DB Defs" aband of cool nerds who performed at the ESCA holiday party.

Cheryl wasa force and her life filled with accomplishments, love and laughter shared with her husband Greg Zettler, who preceded her in death last year. She is survived by her beloved sister Marilyn (Shreveport, LA); her daughter Laurie, son-inlaw Eric, and cherished grandchildren Vivian, Miles, and Gus (Seattle, WA) and several dear nieces, nephewsand friends across the country. Her family was everything and she took immense pride in their accomplishments and adventures. While stunned by her passing, we take comfort thinking of Cheryl and Greg reunited, dancing to something bluesy with a bottomless, complimentary ice cream buffet at their disposal. Please see https: //www.emmickfunerals.co m/obituary/Cheryl-Zettler for details or to message the family.

Forthe past severalmonths, auniqueenergyhas pulsed throughevery blockofNew Orleans, and DillardUniversityhas made themostofthiswave of momentum for theirstudents.By anticipating theinfluxofopportunities that amajor football eventwould present, Dillardhas createda remarkable period of growth andstudent leadership developmentbystrategically partnering with nationwide organizationstooffer their students rare andimpactful opportunities. “Students willbeabletoboast about[this year’s opportunities] for yearstocome. It hasbeenan amazingride,”saidDr. KendricStewart,Interim Vice PresidentofInstitutional Advancementat DillardUniversity. TheDillard administration took initiative earlyon to ensure thestudent body couldbeneﬁtfromthe city hostingsucha large-scaleevent,and President MoniqueGuilloryarrangedtohave eventand city leadersspeak fora special university convocation on November 14th,2024.

eveningseminarswhere theparticipantsare introducedtoa varietyofRISEcurriculumtopics, such as identity,diversity,power andprivilege, bias civicengagement, andcommunity building.Each meeting, variousactivities, discussions, andteambuilding exercisesfosteranenvironment where students areencouragedtodevelop leadership skills such as reﬂection, critical thinking,and teamwork At everyseminar alocal communityleaderorindustry professional is also invitedtospeak on theneeds andnuances of howthese concepts areplayedout within thehostcity.

“Localspeakerscan reallybring theseconcepts to life,” MacIntoshsaid. “And ourhopeisthat students wouldlearn to thinkcriticallyinterms of howtocomeupwithsolutions andhow their abilitiesand skillsetscan make adifference in other people’s lives.”

“Itwas electrifying,” shared Dr.Stewart.“The students gota ﬁrsthand look at what goes on behind thescenes.”

AccordingtoDr. Stewart,studentswereableto conversewiththevisitingexecutivesandgainadeeper understanding of thelayersofinfrastructureand personnelittakes to powersuchanall-encompassing project. Students learnedabout everything from the cameras photographingthe game to thefundraising andgovernancepieces of thepuzzle. Amidst thecity-wide preparations,another unique opportunityarosefor students attendingDillard Universityin thefallof2024. Dillardand several otherlocal universities shared information about theupcomingRISECollegiateLeadershipProgram andencouragedinterestedstudentstoapply.Approximatelyﬁftystudentsfromacrossthe area were then selected to participateinthe program’smeetings, whichwerehostedonthe Dillardand Southern University of NewOrleans’campusesoverthe course of several months “RISEisanationalnon-proﬁtthataimstoempower andeducate thesportscommunity to endracism, said Andrew MacIntosh, Chief ProgramOfficer of RISE TheRISECollegiateLeadershipProgram uses theopportunity that majorsportingeventsprovide as acatalyst to engage students in positive and productive conversationsabout race relationsand social justice. Theprogram consists of tenbi-weekly

Cheryl was aforce and her life filled with accomplishments, love and laughter shared with her husband Greg Zettler, who preceded her in deathlast year. She is survived by her beloved sister Marilyn (Shreveport,LA);her daughter Laurie, son-inlaw Eric, and cherished grandchildren Vivian, Miles, and Gus (Seattle, WA) and several dear nieces, nephews and friends across the country. Her family was everything and she took immense pride in theiraccomplishments and adventures. While stunned by her passing, we take comfort thinking of Cheryl and Greg reunited,dancing to something bluesy with a bottomless, complimentary ice cream buffet at their disposal. Please see https:

Everyyear, thestudentsworktogetheringroups to create aproject that will usethe individuals’ unique abilitiesand passions forthe betterment of their localcommunity.Thisyear’sprogram culminated this week at theErnestN.MorialConventionCenter wherethe participants presentedtheir sports-relatedcommunity impact projects to ahand-picked guestlist of leaderswho canhelpthemtocarry their communityprojectsforward throughmentorship, resources,orfurther networking “It’sreallyabout exposure—exposingthese students to career paths, differentatmospheres, differentorganizations,” Dr.Stewart said.“RISE hasbeena game changerfor ourstudents. Beyond theRISEprogram,Dillard University actively pursuedseveral otherexcitingopportunities throughout this football season to furtherdevelop leadersfromwithin theirstudent body.Notably,ﬁve Dillardstudentswereselectedtojointhe inaugural cohort of anationalmedia scholars programwhich offersreal-worldexperienceinsportsmedia coverage surroundingthe biggame. Marcus Bland, aDillard studentmajoringinMassCommunications, wasalso chosen to participateinthe HBCU Experienceship Program, whichprovidesbehind-the-scenes insight into planning for national sporting events.Lastly, Dillardstudents have also hadthe opportunity to engage in hands-on mediaproductionexperience under thedirectmentorshipofProfessional-in-Residence, Bernel Davis, andFox Sports Formoreinformation aboutDillard University visit:

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NOLA.COM | Sunday, February 9, 2025 1bn

Trump attacks new offshore wind projects

Jobs, revenue are at stake in

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

President Donald Trump’s attacks on the nascent offshore wind industry have on the surface further fueled the nation’s political divisions, but the story is different in Louisiana, where jobs and a new

La.

source of revenue are at stake. The industry has generated broad, bipartisan support in Louisiana, including from companies that have traditionally worked in the oil-and-gas industry The state has spent years seeking to position itself as a hub in the wind energy supply chain, leveraging its long

experience in offshore oil and gas.

Whether that is now at risk is unclear At the very least, it has meant uncertainty in a state looking for ways to expand its industrial base and economic prospects.

“We need to push back just enough in our areas where we’re making the point that this is still pro-American American-built American jobs for American allof-the-above energy,” said state

Rep. Joe Orgeron, a Lafourche Parish Republican who helped lead the building of the country’s first offshore wind farm in Rhode Island. Trump signed an executive order on the first day he took office last month pausing new offshore wind leases in federal waters and thrusting the larger wind industry into uncertainty Trump and other conservative politicians have demonized the industry the nation’s

‘I

ABOVE: A paradegoer watches the Super Bowl LIX Host Committee

NEED TO COME BACK’

Super Bowl parade gives Eagles, Chiefs fans a taste of Carnival

BY DOUG MacCASH

Staff writer

ä See more Super Bowl parade photos.

The springlike weather Saturday doubtless felt like paradise to winter-weary football fans from Kansas City and Philadelphia, crowding into the French Quarter to see a Mardi Gras-style parade celebrating Super Bowl LIX. Temperatures were in the low 70s, and the sunlight pushed through the wispy clouds just enough to glint off the marching bands’ brass instruments.

The whole idea of the Super Bowl Host Committee parade was to provide a taste of Carnival culture to the thousands of football fans in town for the big game as well as the multitudes watching on TV and online.

For the tourist-centric Crescent City, it was a twohour, million-dollar advertisement. And based on comments from crowd members, it seemed to be a success.

“We’re having a blast,” Eagles fan Josh Collins said. “Our local parades are not intense like this,” added his wife, Michelle.

“We have a great Mardi Gras parade,” said Lora Martinez, of Kansas City “We are Fat Tuesday-friendly, but it’s nothing like this.”

“I need to come back when it’s a little bit more normal,” said KC fan Nance Wernes.

It was clear that many in the crowd at the edge of Jackson Square were new to New Orleans parades. Some seemed astonished to be pelted with tangles of plastic beads.

See PARADE, page 2B

Frenchmen Street hotel plans return after two-year delay

Big Freedia eyes turning blighted building into boutique site

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Parade from

Jackson Square light post.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Todd Graves throws coins from his throne as parade king as the Super Bowl Host Committee Parade takes over the French Quarter

ä See WIND, page 2B

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

LEFT: The Super Bowl LIX Host Committee Parade passes the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on Saturday.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Swoop The Eagle greets Eagles fans as the Super Bowl Host Committee Parade takes over on Saturday.

famous. Get Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) or get one of the Mannings (quarterbacks Archie, Peyton or Eli). But they said, ‘No, we want to represent good business in Louisiana.’”

shirts in the crowd were congenially competitive with one another, and with others as well.

The move would have given the artist 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.

“It would have been great to connect the properties and really do something big,” Martin said. “But in the end, we couldn’t pull all the equity together in enough time to do what needed to be done.

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 play a role in cleaning up the strip and creating a space for local performers.

Others scrambled to retrieve fallen strands as if they were treasure. Bands and dance troupes entertained the spectators between the barrages of trinkets.

Big business

The Super Bowl Host Committee anointed as parade monarch the businessman Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane’s fried chicken chain who is reputed to be Louisiana’s wealthiest man.

“When they asked me, I was thrilled to do it,” Graves said. “But I said, ‘Why don’t you get somebody

WIND

Continued from page 1B

“Having that alternative revenue stream, a viable, continuingto-grow revenue stream, basically provides stability for our oil and gas bread and butter companies down here,” said Orgeron, who cofounded 2nd Wind Marine, which develops jack-up vessels for the industry

Unlike the Northeast, Louisiana does not have any operating offshore wind farms off its coast, though German company RWE secured a lease for one in federal waters. Last year the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, cancelled the second lease auction in the Gulf due to a lack of prospects. It later received an unsolicited request from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind LLC to lease two areas off Texas.

Despite the slow start in the Gulf, Louisiana plays a strong role in the offshore wind supply chain due to its robust oil and gas workforce and infrastructure Shipbuilders and vessel operators, for instance, continue to build and maintain offshore wind turbines on the East Coast. Otto Candies LLC, a vessel operator based in Des Allemands that traditionally served the oil and gas industry, has expanded to support offshore wind projects in the Northeast. The company provides service vessels, large ships that can accommodate more than 100 people.

“I think you’re going to have a vibrant oil and gas market for decades to come, I really believe that,” company CEO Otto Candies III said. “So I think as a supplier of services to the energy industry if you have more sources and more places to go and work, I think that helps our industry.” Trump’s approach could affect thousands of jobs in Louisiana, said Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, or NOIA, which serves the offshore

Graves rode atop the repurposed Bacchus king’s ﬂoat accompanied by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse and horn man extraordinaire Trombone Shorty

Unlike an official Mardi Gras parade, where brand advertising is prohibited, the floats of the Super Bowl Host Committee parade were marked with the corporate logos of everything from Toyota to Verizon to DraftKings. Riders on the Tostitos float tossed bags of corn chips.

Vociferous Philly fans

The green shirts and the red

oil, gas and wind industries.

“There’s a lot of questions now that companies are being confronted with when it comes to what they do with their assets moving forward,” Milito said “Do they start shifting assets to other parts of the world? Do they start thinking about layoffs?”

Trump’s order

During his campaign, Trump decried renewable energy, especially offshore wind, vowing instead to expand the production of oil and gas. His day-one executive order pauses offshore wind lease sales in federal waters as well as approvals and permits for offshore and onshore projects that already have leases.

The order also allows Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to conduct a review of the environmental and economic “necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases.”

In the wind withdrawal, Trump touted the need to meet growing energy demand, the importance of marine life and energy costs for low-income Americans.

Many offshore wind critics have said that the industry kills whales, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that there are no links between large whale deaths and offshore wind activities Unlike traditional fossil fuels, wind energy does not create air pollution or produce planetwarming carbon dioxide.

‘A promising industry’

Orgeron has reached out for meetings with most of Louisiana’s congressional delegation, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority leader Steve Scalise

Whether the highest-ranking Louisiana ofﬁcials will counter the executive order is yet to be seen. Republican members of the delegation did not respond to requests for comment.

U.S Rep. Troy Carter, one of Louisiana’s two congressional Democrats, said Trump’s order

Before the parade began, an ampliﬁed preacher held forth to the parade crowd at Jackson Square — until he was drowned out by a group of Philadelphia fans chanting “E A G L E S Eagles!”

To be honest, Eagles fans were considerably louder than their Kansas City rivals, who mostly practiced Midwestern modesty on the parade route.

That is, except for one guy, draped in Kansas City beads and medallions, who loudly yelled the Chiefs’ war chant. “They say no man’s an island,” said the Chiefs fan, Marshal Moss. “It takes a lot of conﬁdence to stand alone.”

“risks stalling a promising industry in Louisiana where offshore wind could create jobs, strengthen national security, diversify the economy, and drive clean energy growth.”

“This order is done under the erroneous auspices that offshore wind somehow harms the oil and gas industry, which it does not,” he said in a statement

Louisiana Republicans have been vocal champions of the state’s role in the wind industry Scalise has previously praised a novel offshore wind vessel created by the Houma shipbuilder Edison Chouest, saying “wind is the newest form of energy we will dominate.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy Scalise and Carter have sponsored bills in Congress that would allow states to share in revenue from offshore wind while also increasing the amount received from oil and gas production.

In November, Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment dedicating future offshore wind revenue to coastal restoration and protection, an initiative sponsored by Orgeron.

‘All about industry’

While offshore wind will help the nation address climate change, it also has industrial beneﬁts in Louisiana.

Orgeron explained that the state’s facilities manufacturing chemicals that go into plastics, rubbers and fertilizers want to buy renewable energy so their products are more competitive on the global market.

“Here in Louisiana, anytime you see renewable energy, especially offshore wind, it’s not for that sign in your neighbor’s yard that says, ‘my house powered by green energy’ and I pay three times more than my neighbor,” Orgeron said. “It’s all about industry here.”

Offshore wind is among the more expensive forms of new power generation, at about $100 per megawatt-hour for projects connecting to the grid within the next few years, according to the

The hotel has since gone back to its lenders, who paid off the outstanding bills. It is under new management and has been rebranded as The Frenchmen by Kasa.

Martin said Freedia would still like to partner with the Frenchmen hotel on programming at its Tiki Tok bar but said those discussions will take a back seat to ﬁxing up Hotel Freedia

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

Long in the planning

Plans for Hotel Freedia come as Frenchmen Street is struggling to balance its popularity as a late-night destination for tourists

U.S. Energy Information Administration. In contrast, new natural gas plants are estimated to produce electricity at more than $40 per megawatt-hour Onshore wind is one of the cheaper forms of renewables, at over $30 on average.

The wind market for every household in the state of Louisiana is not a good market when you think about it just from a sheer cost perspective,” Chet Chiasson, the director of Port Fourchon, said.

“Where I think wind has a role in all this is in the industrial sector side, the ability to purchase wind energy to offset carbon footprints for the industrial base.”

Orgeron’s district includes Port Fourchon, which accounts for around 15% of the country’s oil supply and services and more than 95% of the Gulf of Mexico’s deepwater oil production.

The Port is set to beneﬁt from an offshore wind expansion in the Gulf. Louisiana has awarded operating agreements to two offshore wind companies for state waters, one of which sits three miles from the jetties of the Port. This positions the oil and gas hub as the

“We believe in the street,” he said. “We don’t want it to become Bourbon Light. We want there to be local owners and people invested in doing cool stuff.” Freedia and Kupperman began collaborating on the idea for the project in 2021, and Kupperman bought the building with the Hotel Freedia concept in mind. Kupperman is part of a new generation of young developers in the city, whose high-proﬁle projects include Hotel St. Vincent, the Drifter Hotel 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 on the ground ﬂoor The hotel rooms will be on the second ﬂoor, and the pool and clubhouse will be in the adjacent open space. Kupperman and Martin declined to disclose the sale price of the building but the total project cost will be between $1 million and $5 million, Kupperman said.

base for construction and services.

The Port will also see the ﬁrst onshore wind turbine in the state on its grounds this year, as Gulf Wind Technology installs an 187-foot-tall windmill at Port Fourchon’s Coastal Wetlands Park. It will be used for data collection and to power the Port’s emergency operations building.

“What I don’t like is what the previous administration did where they hit oil and gas hard and said it’s only renewables,” Chiasson said. “I don’t like the opposite either.”

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of his life, Linda They lived in Arabi LA where he was a parishioner of St Louise de Marillac where he was an involved member of the Men’s Club church usher and Father Hug Council of Knights of Columbus. He worked at the American Can Company in lithogra‐phy After the closing of the company, he worked at Baptist Hospital as a main‐tenance technician until he retired to Covington LA CJ loved everyone, especially children He could talk to anyone as he never met a stranger. He enjoyed going to the casinos with his daughter or close friends CJ never hesitated to help anyone in need He was caring and kind with the biggest heart and always very devoted to his family He will be missed by all who knew and loved him In lieu of ﬂowers, contribu‐tions in memory of Mr. Ar‐mand, may be made to masses preferably in mem‐ory of Mr Clarence Ar‐mand. Relatives and friends are invited to at‐tend the funeral mass at St. Anselm Catholic Church, 306 St Mary St., Madisonville LA 70447 on Friday, February 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m with visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m that morning. Interment will fol‐low in Pinecrest Memorial Gardens. E.J Fielding Fu‐neral Home has been en‐trusted with funeral arrangements The family invites you to share thoughts, fondest memo‐ries, and condolences on‐line at E J. Fielding Funeral Home Guest Book at www ejﬁeldingfh.com

ence to Abba tributes. As a devoted husband,Jim supported his wife's love of animals, dancing, and novels -which he read aloud to her when she could no longer do so herself. He also doted on his five grandchildren -even wearing a "Proud Aggie Grandpa" shirt for those attending Texas A&M, despitebeing an avid LSU fan. Family and friends are invited to the visitationon Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 9:30 AM, followed by afuneral mass at 10:30 AM, at Mater Dolorosa Church. Interment will follow at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home and Cemeteries. Thereafter, a reception will be held at 1:30 PM at the Mater Dolorosa Parish House. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association.

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Clarence Joseph "CJ" Ar‐mand was called by God to his prepared Eternal home on Thursday, January 30 2025 at the age of 89. He was born in Bordelonville LA on January 5, 1936. He peacefully passed away at his home of 27 years in Covington He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of almost 63 years, Linda Helminger Armand; his son, Troy Armand (Gay‐lyn) and daughter, Heidi Hankel; loving grandfather (pops) of Stacie Frey (Matthew), Dilan Hankel, and Joshua and Olivia Ar‐mand. Adoring greatgrandfather of Grayson Hartzog and Porter Frey. He is also survived by wonder‐ful lifelong friends He was preceded in death by his parents Maude Ann Lacour Armand and Clarence Paul Armand Mr Armand was a faithful parishioner of St Anselm Catholic Church where he was a member of the Men’s Club and an usher He was also a mem‐ber of St Benedict’s Knights of Columbus Cov‐ington Council 3061. He was a recipient of the Knight of the Year 20182019. He also participated in the annual St Joseph’s Altar CJ graduated from Bordelonville High School in Avoyelles Parish, there‐after enlisted into the U.S Army and served in the Ko‐rean War. He then moved to New Orleans where he met and married the love of his life, Linda. They lived in Arabi, LA where he was a parishioner of St. Louise de Marillac where he was an involved member of the Men’s Club, church usher,

James Bernard Bollinger, adevoted husband,father, and grandfather, passed away in Houston, Texas, on February 3, 2025, at the age of 79. Jim was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Sharon Plaeger Bollinger, and his parents, James Alvin Bollinger, and Julia Sue Blanchard Bollinger. He is survived by his daughters, Amber Bollinger Shushan (Benjamin) and Rachel Bollinger Roffall (Michael), of Houston, Texas, and by his sister, Patricia Bollinger Boitmann (Don), of Frisco, Texas. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren, Sydney Shushan, Spencer Shushan, Grace Roffall, Justin Roffall, and Sadie Roffall, along with nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Jim was raised in New Orleans and initially settled in Chalmette before relocating to Prairieville after Hurricane Katrina. After graduating fromHoly Cross High School, Jim earned adegree in accounting from Louisiana State UniversityinNew Orleans and became a CPA. He then worked in the accounting field at Pete Marwick, MiddleSouth Utilities, Entergy Services, Inc.,and theOrleans Levee District

An enthusiastic sports fan and proud "girl dad," he sparked his daughters' love for sports. He coached them while also being aBarbie Dream House assembler and audience to Abba tributes. As a devoted husband,Jim supported his wife's love of animals, dancing, and novels -which he read aloud

Edsell Wyman Brown (April 25, 1948 -January 30, 2025 proudly served in the U.S. Marine Corps, fighting in the Vietnam War before his honorable discharge. A dedicated welder at Avondale Shipyard,helater retired and embraced his faith. He shared aloving marriage with Rose (Rosella) Brown and was a guiding presence to many. Edsell is survived by ahost of loving family members, friends, and agodchild.He leaves behind alegacy of service, love, and faith. He will be deeply missed but forever remembered Semper Fi, Marine. Your mission is complete. Rest in peace.

children on June 15, 1936 in Golden Meadow, Louisiana At age 18, she moved to New Orleans where she married the love of her life, Robert Together they built a loving family of their own that continues to grow and prosper. She is survived by her devoted husband of 71 years Robert Matthias Buisson, Sr.; daughter, Cheryl Fontaine; and son Robert Buisson Jr and his wife, Jennifer She is also survived by her siblings: Mary Jane Falgout, Thelma Doucet, Janelle Tate, and Larry Duet; and her son-inlaw Chris Giarrusso She was preceded in death by her daughters, Loretta Buisson and Donna Giar‐russo; her parents, Evelia and Clovis Duet; her sonin-law, Hylas Baudean; and several siblings. With her gift for nurturing, Betty was like a second mother to her five grandchildren: Jennifer Tureau (Steven) Courtney Sepulvado (Chad), Sara Parker (Bryan), Jordan Sistrunk (Chris), and Taylor Giar‐russo She delighted in the joy of knowing her nine great grandchildren: Cooper, Jax, Eli, Beckett, Ezra, Grant Rhys Luke and Grace Betty was the matriarch of the Buisson family She prepared won‐derful meals for her family everyday, loved gardening, fishing, sewing, and caring for everyone she knew. She was a model of wisdom, strength, and diligence perfectly exemplifying the Proverbs 31 woman, as commanded by her Lord Jesus Christ. The values of love and generosity that Betty and Robert taught will endure through gener‐ations Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”Proverbs 31:28-29. A cele‐bration of her life will be held at Mothe Funeral Home, 2100 Westbank Expy., Harvey, LA on Sun‐day February 16, 2025 at 3 p.m Visitation will be held from 1:30 p.m until service time. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma So‐ciety.

Troy

member of Christ

Cathedral (Episcopal) where he was a

member of the

and also served as its Secre‐tary. At the Cathedral, he was an active participant in many worship services and especially cherished his role in the Advent Festi‐val of Lessons and Carols One of his most cherished memories was represent‐ing the Diocese as Crucifer in the Rite of Consecration Service for the Rt Rev Charles E Jenkins III as the 10th Bishop of Louisiana. In addition to his Church and Anglican choral music Troy's passions were all things British, Christmas in New York, world travel, and the New Orleans Carnival In the late 1960's, he joined the "upstart" Krewe of Endymion and spent the next 30 years as a riding member and ﬂoat lieu‐tenant. He was also a longtime and current member of the Knights of Babylon where he rode amongst the Babylon Horsemen. He was always excited to lead the parade and kick

Buisson, Betty June Duet Betty June Duet Buis‐son, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grand‐mother, and sister entered her Heavenly home on Jan‐uary 28, 2025, at the age of 88. She leaves behind a legacy of kindness and grace and will be forever cherished by all who knew her Betty was born into a large Cajun family of 14 children on June 15, 1936 in Golden Meadow Louisiana At age 18, she moved to New Orleans where she married the love of her life, Robert Together they built a th

Sh is ived

Bollinger, James Bernard

Mary Davids, age 86, of New Orleans, Louisiana, born on July 19, 1938 in New Roads, LA, transi‐tioned to her heavenly home on January 30, 2025

Mary was the loving mother of Michael, Phillip, Jr. Paul Antoinette Iris Jonique and Cindy In addi‐tion to her children, Mary is survived by her sister, Lubertha Mitchell; two brothers Rogers and Leroy Joseph; as well as numer‐ous grandchildren great grandchildren, nieces, nephews cousins, family and friends Mary was pre‐deceased by her husband Leroy; her parents, Henry Davids and Louvina Davis Joseph; and three siblings, Jeannette, Donna and Henry Jr Her beautiful smile, sense of humor and big heart will be greatly missed. Family and friends are invited to attend the Celebration of Life Service at The City of Love 8601 Palmetto Street, New Or‐leans LA 70118 on Tuesday February 11, 2025 at 11:00

a.m Visitation at 10:00 a.m Interment: Private. Please sign the online guestbook at www charbonnetfuner alhome com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion Directors (504) 581-4411.

Marlene "Marli" Rita Rossi Davispassed away on January 28, 2025, at 73. She was born on April 25, 1951, to the late Elizabeth Killeen Rossi and Percy B. Rossi Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana. Marli attended San Jacinto College and the University of Houston, majoring in interior design and general studies. As a young adult, she lived in Houston for 15 years, though photos during this time show her traveling the world—from Caracas to Ibiza, among many other cities. These photos capture Marli perfectly— stunninglybeautiful, independent, and adventurous with an air of mystery. Returning home to New Orleans, Marli would soon meet her devoted spouse of nearly 40 years, Glenn Paul Davis. She worked as arealtor, amortgage loan officer, and aspecial events coordinator before becoming afull-time, loving, and dedicated mother to her two daughters, Grayson Davis Pierce and Lane-Larkin Davis. Her two grandchildren, Hudson Wesley Pierce and James "Mixon" Pierce, would later become the light of her life, and she truly shined brightly for them. Her two grandsons enjoyed every trip to their LiLi's house, from trips to the park and the Lego store to making pancakes or lemonade. Highly involved in her community, Marli wasa member of various clubs and organizations, where she chaired and served on many committees, including the Orléans Club, the Junior League of New Orleans (interior decorating club and garden club), Women of Trinity Church, and Faith &Fiction. Marli was also alongtime board member of Lakewood Property Owners Association, where she was widelyknown for her tenacity. Marli cherished her book club friends, with whom she recently started arestaurant club. Her daughters and friends would describe her as an elegant, eloquent energizer bunny with acritical eye. Marli woulddress impeccably only to dine at her favorite hole-in-thewall restaurant and salsa dance (or hula hoop) at Rock-n-Bowl. Her talent was finding the most special moments. Alover of nature, specifically the mountains, Marli spent most summers of her adultlife hiking in Western North Carolina. Her more recent hiking trips include Cashiers, North Carolina, the Finger Lakes in New York, Zion

spent most summers of her adult life hiking in Western North Carolina. Her more recent hiking trips include Cashiers, North Carolina, the Finger Lakes in NewYork,Zion National Park, Central / Northwest Arkansas, and Alaska. Marli enthusiastically pursued all things beautiful, cultural, educational, and spiritual while bringing people togetherin these pursuits. Her Episcopalian faith was essential to her, andshe inspiredmany. Above all, Marli was acommitted mother, grandmother, spouse,and friend, and she will be dearlymissed.

Marli leaves behind her spouse of nearly40years, Glenn Paul Davis, her daughters, Grayson Davis Pierce (Evan Randall Pierce) and Lane-Larkin Davis, and her grandchildren, Hudson Wesley Pierce and James"Mixon" Pierce

She is also survived by her sisters, Barbara (Randy) Smith, Beverly (Sam) Judeh, Darlene (Sal) Mortillaro, and Karen (John) Burthardt, as well as countless loving cousins whom she was very close to, including Sue (Eddie)Chinn, Beth (Tim) Findley, Laurel Hughes, Kelly Killeen, Danny Pauli, Norman Pauli,Rebecca Reeves, and Letty (Ronald) Taylor, to name afew. Marli is precededindeath by her mother, Elizabeth KilleenRossi, her father, Percy B. Rossi Jr.,and her brother, Percy "Benny" Rossi III.

Visitation will commence at 2:00 pm on Saturday, April 5, at Trinity Episcopal Church, followed by amemorial service at 3:00 pm. Areception celebrating Marli's lifewill be held at 4:00 pm in the Parish House /Courtyard at Trinity Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Trinity Episcopal Church in Marli's name at https://tri nitynola.com/giving/

Deichmann, Joyce Ann Gros Henning

Joyce Ann Gros Henning Deichmann entered into eternal rest on January 12 2025. Beloved mother of Ju‐dith Lee H. DeBlanc (Mike) Scott Henning, Sr (Bonnie), and Leslie H Heintz (David) Grandmother of Larry Bird, III (Priscilla), Brad DeBlanc Christian De‐Blanc (Ashley), Scott Hen‐ning, Jr. (Danielle), Kim‐berly H Norton (Sam), Brian Heintz, and Nicholas Heintz. Great-grandmother of Nicholas Hudson, Hay‐den, Madison, Arya, Eden, and Eleanor Daughter of the late Wickless Gros and Gladys Hebert Gros. Sister of Geraldine Tackett (Tim) and the late Whitney Gros (late Carrie), the late Max‐ine Giardina (Jake), and the late Mary Ann Richard (late Gillis) Also survived by her beloved cat Baby. Age 82 years a native of Thibo‐daux, LA and resident of Gretna, LA. Relatives and friends of the family are in‐vited to attend the Memor‐ial Visitation at Mothe Fu‐neral Home, 2100 Westbank Expy., Harvey, LA on Satur‐day February 15, 2025 from 9 a.m until Memorial Ser‐vice time at 11 a.m. Inter‐ment Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Gretna, LA The family invites you to share your thoughts, fond memories, and condo‐lences online at www mot hefunerals.com

erty Ewing Sally is sur‐vived by her beloved hus‐band of 58 years, Thomas A. Dowd, III, sons Tad Dowd (Sara) Tim Dowd (Christina) and her three precious grandchildren: Hunter, Molly and Char‐lotte She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews who loved her dearly. Sally met the love of her life on a double date when she was a senior in high school She graduated from Riverdale High School in Metairie, LA and at‐tended LSU. Sally had the best laugh and was a gifted conversationalist who never met a stranger She was blessed with an amazing group of lifelong friends, many of whom she had known since grammar school Sally loved her family patiently and gener‐ously Her sons were her pride and joy and she cher‐ished being Granny to her three grandchildren. A three-time cancer survivor, Sally was strong-willed and lived her life to the fullest Her battle against Alzheimer’s was brave and fierce until the end Per her wishes, Sally will be cre‐mated and laid to rest alongside her parents and sister in the Christ Episco‐pal Memorial Garden in Covington, LA A celebra‐tion of life will follow at a later date. The Dowd Fam‐ily would like to thank Sally’s extended family and numerous friends for their support and prayers In lieu of flowers, dona‐tions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org). E.J Fielding Fu‐neral Home has been en‐trusted with funeral arrangements The Dowd family invites you to share thoughts, fondest memo‐ries, and condolences on‐line at E J. Fielding Funeral Home Guest Book at www ejfieldingfh.com

Patricia "Pat" Coco Ellis, born on May 15, 1943, in New Orleans, Louisiana, passed away peacefully at her home in Metairie on February 3, 2025, at the age of 81, surrounded by loved ones. A lifelong New Orleanian, Pat was known for her warmth, sharp wit,and abilitytomake life more interesting.

She was the daughter of Marguerite Waguespack and Malcolm A. Coco. Pat attended theAcademy of the Sacred Heart and met William "Conner" Ellis Jr. while they were in high school. They married on June 6, 1963, and built alife filled with loveand family. Pat attended Newcomb College and lived briefly in Charleston, SC, where Conner was stationed in the Navy, before returning to New Orleans, where they both shared over 60 years together.

Pat had asharp mind and anatural talent for bridge, agame she played throughout her life. She loved her regular games with friends butalso spent many late nightsdealing out four handsand playing them all herself. She was a strong tennis and golf player and formed many lasting friendships through her regular matches. Pat loved classic movies and never missed an opportunity to watch The Sound of Music or My Fair Ladywith her children and grandchildren. While she cherished the company of others, Pat always marched to the beat of her own drummer, embracing life on her own terms with grace and determination.

Pat is survived by her devoted husband,Conner and their three children, Julie Ellis, William "Bill" Ellis III (Kelly), and Steven Ellis (Sabine); her sisters, Marilyn Coco Ducasse, Elizabeth"Liz" Coco Diaz, and Evelyn Coco Randle; 11 grandchildren (William, John Conner, Parker, Taylor, Emma, Coco,Emily, Kate, Ashley, Sophie, and Audrey); and 3greatgrandchildren. She was preceded in deathbyher mother, Marguerite Waguespack, and her brother, Malcolm "Butch" Coco.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend funeral services on Monday, February 10, 2025, at Lake Lawn Funeral Home, with visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m., followed by Mass at 11:00 a.m.

In lieuofflowers, donations may be made to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Pat's memory.

Pat's loyalty, humor, and friendship will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Academy of the Sacred Heart in Pat's memory.

Pat's loyalty, humor, and friendship will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Leroy E. Fleming, acherished member of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana community, passed away at home on the evening of February 3, 2025, just one week after his 103rd birthday. Born on January 27, 1922, in Port Hudson, Louisiana, to Isaac "Ike" and Addie Fleming, Leroy lived alife defined by family and achievement.

As astar athleteat Baker High School, Leroy was inducted into the school's hall of fame for his excellence in tennis, track, football, and basketball. Ayear after graduating in 1941, he took a3-day bus ridetoLos Angeles CA, where he was trained as amechanic at Lockheed Aircraft Company. Within weeks of thebombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Leroy married his high school sweetheart, Margie Bernard, in Los Angeles, and they danced to themusic of anew singer, Frank Sinatra, in Hollywood. Margie returned to Louisiana and Leroy enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces, aprecursortothe U.S. Air Force. He was assigned to the 33rd Photo Reconnaissance Squad where he achieved the rank of Sergeant. The pilots of this unit flew unarmed P-38 aircraft that were outfitted with cameras to conduct surveillance before D-Day. Leroy was amember of themechanic team. His group was also sent to Omaha Beach in France, where he was in afoxhole forseveral days until the army secured space for air strips to be built.Leroy also was with the groups that freed the survivors of aGerman concentration camp and he was at theLiberationof Paris. While in the foxhole, Leroy asked God to let him live so that he could be baptized at home, which God granted Upon returning to Baton Rouge, Leroy was accepted into aprogram at Standard Oil, now ExxonMobil, where he became asupervisor for the Research and Development Division. When Exxon sent Leroy to France to open afacility, his family accompanied him. Leroy showed his family some of the places he had been, and they returned home aboard the ocean liner SS United States.

After Leroy retired in 1982, he and Margie began investing in rental property and travelling until his wife became chair-bound. He devoted his time to caring for Margie, even learning to make corn bread. Leroy was atechie before his time, being the first in his neighborhood to own a big C-band satellite dish (which he installed in his yard)inthe 80's and the first in his family to ownan iPad at 97 years of age. An avid LSU sportsfan, he was famous for saying that aplay was "critical crucial" as LSUgot down to the wire. Leroy even recorded LSU football games to watch in theoffseason. In addition to LSU sports, his other joywas his family. He encouraged his family to pursue excellence in educationand professional goals. He also had asweet side. Leroy enjoyed watching the Bachelorette TV show because he said he "loved seeing young peoplein love."

Leroy attended Zoar Baptist Church and was a member of the Central Masonic Lodge #442. Having outlived friends his age, his caregivers became his friends. They treated him like aking, preparing his coffee and meals with detailed precisionuntil the very end of his life.

Leroy was preceded in death by his wife of 70 years, Margie; his mother and father, Issac and Addie; son, Michael (Bobbie); and grandson, Randy. Leroy is survived by his daughters Cheri Sevier (Rick); Patricia McKenzie (Fred); grandchildren Lynn Fleming, Ricky Sevier, Jeff McKenzie (Pam); greatgrandson Layne Fleming (Ashlynn) &several nieces &nephews. With deep gratitude, the family thanks: Doctors Adrian Landry; Norman

McKenzie (Pam); greatgrandson Layne Fleming (Ashlynn) &several nieces &nephews. With deep gratitude, the family thanks: Doctors Adrian Landry; Norman Deumite, Salmon Baghian, and JohnAmadon; Pastors Glen Miers andClint Newsom; Caregivers and friends: Shirley &Kenneth Browning; Carolyn & Warren Winstead; Dave Myers; Lisa Crutcher; Mona Bates; Deara Hawthorne; Carol Whittle; DoreathaWright; Elaine Wynn; Karen Parker; Kathleen Cage; &Amanda Sparks; Zoar Baptist Church. Friends and relatives are invited to the Visitation at 10:00 a.m. on February 12, 2025, at Resthaven Gardens of Memory and Funeral Home, 11817 Jefferson Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA until the Memorial Serviceat11:00. a.m., and the burial service at Resthaven, followed by areception at Zoar Baptist Church, 11848 Hooper Rd, Baton Rouge, LA. In lieu of flowers, please make donationsto St. Jude, Zoar Baptist Church, or the charity of your choice.

Family andfriends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal note to the family at www.resthav enbatonrouge.com.

Thursday, February

2025.

on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 12:00 PM at St. Vincent DePaul Cemetery. Crain and Sons Funeral HomeFranklinton are in charge of arrangements. Please sign guestbook at www.crainandsons.com.

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Allen Felix Gen‐dron, a beloved husband, father grandfather and great-grandfather Allen passed away peacefully at his home on February 5 2025 at the age of 95 sur‐rounded by his wife and children Visitation will be from 10:00 am until 11:00 am on Wednesday, Febru‐ary 12, 2025 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 155 Holy Family Lane, Luling LA A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 am with burial to follow in St. Charles Cemetery, Lul‐ing LA Allen is survived by his loving wife of 71 years, Lois Foret Gendron; daugh‐ter, Cindy Gendron Casanova; son Marty Paul Gendron; daughter-in-law, Claire Lendle Gendron; sis‐ter, Earline Gendron Frank; grandchildren Brandon Joseph Casanova, Kristi Casanova Whitman (Robert) and Nicholas An‐thony Gendron along with numerous great-grandchil‐dren. He was preceded in death by his son, Dale An‐thony Gendron; parents, Noe and Mable Landeche Gendron and sisters, Marahlee Mollere, Lois Wylie, Mae Picard and Betty Guillot and Nellie De‐selles. There are no words to express how blessed and grateful we were to call you ours You were loved immensely and we will carry your memory in our hearts forever. Fal Funer in ch of arr

we were to call you ours. You were loved immensely, and we will carry your memory in our hearts forever Falgout Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements Godfrey, John Edgar

John Edgar Godfrey, much loved husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather, and friend, died at home on January 24 following avaliant battle with advanced cancer. He is survived by his wife, Janis Letourneau,his daughters Kristine Hunt (Duane) and Terri Garrett (Vic), stepsonsPhillip and Michael Letourneau (Kelly and Beth), and grand (and step grand) children Jeffrey and Kevin Cohen (Amanda and Cori), Brittany Chow (Stephen), Troy Garrett (Darby), James, Byrde, and John Conrad, and great-granddaughter, Amelia. Known by avariety of affectionate titles, his favorites were Dad, Grandpa Johnny, Gaga, and GG Johnny. He lived his82years to their fullest, making friends until hisfinal days. Born in rural Parsons, Kansas, John grew up on aworking farm and cattle ranch. He worked primarily in the financial services business climbing his wayupthe corporate ladder by simply "outworking everyone else". His career led him to multiple reassignments in Charlotte, New York City, New Orleans, Windsor (England), and Fort Worth. John retired 25 years ago returning to Mandeville after servingasPresident of Kentucky Finance. He remained aWildcat fan for the rest of his life. He was fiercely competitive, playing baseball andfootball as ayoung man and tennis and alot of golf later in life. Always goal-oriented, he and Jan embarked on a quest to visit all the national parks andtoplay golf in all 50 states; John became an avid hiker, despite his initial reservations. He enjoyed traveling the world and cherished his adventures with his family and friends. He served for many years as a volunteer at the National WW2 Museum. John was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Frances (Peterson)Godfrey, his brothers, Max and Philip, and hiswife, Sharon Rae Godfrey. The family is grateful for the care John received at Ochsner Cancer Center and at home by Guardian Angel Hospice and by Shirley and Vanita (PassionateCare). Funeral services will be held at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124 on Friday, February 14 at 11:00 am, with visitation beginning at 9:00 am. John will be buried in Parsons. In lieu of flowers, please consider adonation in John's name to theWW2 Museum, Tunnel to Towers Foundation,orFarm Rescue.

Fleming, Leroy E.

Gallicio, Herbert William

Mr. Herbert William Gallicio, 90 passed on

Herbert is aUnited States Army Veteran Aburial will be

Ellis, Patricia Coco

Davis, Marlene Rossi 'Marli'

Gendron, Allen Felix

Harris, Frankie Wright

Frankie Wright Harris 90, departed this life on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 in the care of her doctors at Touro Hospital. Although saddened by her sudden

(Charles Harris, Jr.), Frankie is survived and will be remembered by her

Dowd, Sally Ewing

Fr e WHar

90, departed this life on Tuesday February 4 2025 in the care of her doctors at Touro Hospital. Although saddened by her sudden death we are grateful for the time we got to spend with her and the memories made along the way!

Frankie was born on July 20, 1934 in Frederick OK

She is preceded in death by her parents (Will & Bema Wright), six brothers (Will Wright Jr Sonny Wright, Phillip Wright, Har‐vey Wright, Aubrie Wright and Jimmy Wright), and her two sisters (Bema Wright and Fae Wright Lig‐gins) She is also preceded in death by her two sons (Preston Wright and Clark Dale) father-in-law (Charles Harris, Sr.), mother-in-law (Gertrude Harris), and three broth‐ers-in law (Steven Harris Robert Harris, and Ray‐mond Harris) In addition to her husband of 52 years (Charles Harris, Jr.), Frankie is survived and will be remembered by her friends (like Mary Cameron and Kelly), her four cousins (Myra Gaines, Bruce Jones Clifton Jones, and Thomas Acrey), and her in-laws: Larsal Harris (Gwendolyn), Donald Harris (Janice) Laurence Harris, Douglas Harris (Brenda), Ralph Har‐ris (Yolanda) and Tyrone Daniel Harris. Already a mother of 2 children Frankie met Charles Harris in the Fall of 1966, while he was stationed at Fort Sill in Lawton OK The two even‐tually fell in love and re‐mained at each other’s side until her passing – al‐most 59 years later! The couple married on October 10, 1972 and moved to Charles’ hometown of New Orleans, LA in December of that same year. Shortly after arriving in New Or‐leans Frankie began work‐ing for the Orleans Parish School Board where she re‐mained until she retired at the age of 65 from Phillis Wheatley Elementary in 1999. Frankie was a strong willed and resolute woman who was both tough and tender But she was a faithful wife, a loving mother, and a loyal friend to those who were closest to her. Although many of us didn’t know it, Frankie had a distinct love of music, of dancing, and of being a closet singer who sang solos at church from time to time. On any given day you would either ﬁnd her at home watching The Young & Restless or her fa‐vorite – the Wheel of For‐tune! And when away from home, she liked nothing more than enjoying the food, sights, and sounds of the Silver Slipper Casino with her hubby Finally Charles would like to thank everyone for the loving prayers and support given to him as he says farewell to the love of his life A Fu‐neral Service in Frankie s remembrance will be held on Thursday, February 13 2025 at 10:00 am at Majes‐tic Mortuary Service, Inc., located at 1833 Oretha Cas‐tle Haley Blvd., New Or‐leans LA 70113. Visitation will begin at 9:00 am Inter‐ment will be in Restlawn Park Cemetery. Due to COVID-19, everyone attend‐ing is encouraged to wear masks and adhere to social distancing. Professional arrangements entrusted to Majestic Mortuary Service Inc. (504) 523-5872.

Jr., Joseph Clement

Joseph Clement

Hennessey, Jr., aged 77, passed away on January 29, 2025 at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, TX, at 1:53pm. Born on June 12, 1947,in the Irish Channel of New Orleans, Louisiana, he was the beloved son of the late Dorothy de Schouten Hennessey and Joseph Clement Hennessey, Sr. He had been alongtime resident of New Orleans, Metairie, and in Woodlake SubdivisionofKenner, where he lived since 1984. Joseph is survived by his wife Judy of New Orleans, LA; son Josh of Houston, TX; sister Elizabeth E. Hennessey of New Orleans, LA; and Grandchildren Hudson, Hayes, and Bryn Hennessey. He was the proud uncle of Margaret, Melanie, Michael II, Eric, and the late Elise Montero. Joe attended De La Salle High School from 1961 to 1964 and graduated from Fortier High School in 1965. Soon after graduating, he enlisted in the US Navy Reserve and was honorably discharged in 1966. As an investor, mortgage banker, and appraiser, Joe had built along and successful career in real estate in New Orleans. He started as aclerk in the collection department with First National Mortgage Corporation in 1966 and worked his way to

successful career in real estate in New Orleans. He startedasa clerk in the collection department with First National Mortgage Corporation in 1966 and worked his wayto Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager of First National'soriginal Kenner, Louisiana office. He left First National Mortgage in 1978 to form Progressive Mortgage Corporation with hislongtime business partners and friends and served as the Executive Vice President in charge of the Commercial Loan Department and FHA MultiFamily Loans. He remained with Progressive Mortgage until itssalein 1983. His real estate career continuedwith other companies, notably Latter &Blum and ending with American Bank in 1995 when he lost hiseyesight due to Behcets Disease. Joe was amemberof the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, memberand designated Master Mortgage Banker of the Louisiana Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Director of the New Orleans Mortgage Bankers Association (1975 &1978). He was acharter member of the Young Mortgage Bankers Committeeand servedinmany rolesfrom Publicity Chairman in 1966 to President in 1972. He also served as the State Vice Chairman (1973) and Chairman (1974) of the Louisiana State Chapter. He had apassion and love for New Orleans. Not for the food, he was ameat and potatoes guy.Not for the revelry,asherarely drank. But mostlyfor its history and its culture. He performed appraisalsof real estate across the entire city, from historichotels in the French Quarter to new developments in Kenner, Metairie, and the West Bank. His appraisals often included an extended historyofthatpart of the city, stemming more from his own genuine interest than fulfillingthe appraisal background requirement. He collected enough books, photographs, and maps of New Orleans and Louisiana that he could have opened his own French Quarter bookstore.Anamateur treasure hunter, hisadventures with ametaldetector would occasionally leadto amonumental find of New Orleans history. He lovedMardi Gras, being ariding member of the Krewe of Mecca, Krewe of Caesar, and the Krewe of Mardi Gras. Whennot riding, he spent many parades carrying his son, and then many years later his grandchildren, on his shoulders with adeep voice getting the attention of the top level riders. An avid Saints fan, he was a season ticket holder from their beginning in 1967 to 1986, and continued to shout and cheer at the TV on Sundays for the next forty seven years. With his wife and son, he movedtoWoodlake Subdivision in Kenner, LA in1984 and became an enthusiastic memberof Woodlake Tennis&Swim Club, serving on the board in various roles and aterm as the club president. He enjoyedplaying tennis and spending time with neighbors and friends throughout his years. His many interests and passions included duck hunting, water skiing, genealogy, coin collecting, clock and watch repairing, smelting, tennis, baseball, softball, auto repair, and politics. But most of all, he enjoyed his time with his wife and family Afuneral service to honor and celebrate hislife will be held on Saturday, February 22nd, at Divine Mercy Catholic Church, located at 4337 Sal Lentini Pkwy. in Kenner,LA. All that knew Joe are invited to attend beginning at 11:30am, with the funeral session beginning at 12pm.

King, Margaret Halverson

Margaret (Halverson) King, adevoted wife, mother and grandmother, died Feb 1, 2025 after along battle against arare blood cancer. She was 74. She was the wife of Paul M. King, with whom she shared nearly 33 years of marriage.She was the daughter of the late Eric John Halverson and Anna May (Francioni). Borninto alarge and loving family of eight children, Margaret valuedthe bonds of kinship. She forged close relationships with herfour sisters and threebrothers. She was agraduate of Archbishop Chapelle High School in Metairie. Margaret had along career

ship. She forged close relationships with her four sisters and three brothers. She was agraduateof Archbishop Chapelle High School in Metairie. Margaret had along career in the insurance industry as aclaims adjuster. While working full-time and raising her two children, Rhondaand Brian, Margaret became an entrepreneur. Margaret always had the heart of an entrepreneur. She was involved in real estate, an industrial sweeping company and theliquor business. Her greatest joy was being amother and grandmother. Margaret loved to go to her kids and grandkids activities, whether it was adance recital, spelling bee, robotics competition, or sportsactivities. She was always cheering them on.

Margaret and Paul built alife together based on mutual love, respect and a deep commitment to their families in Louisiana and New England

One of Margaret's loves was playing tennis, which she enjoyed with the whole family. She continued to play for thenext 30 years with Crossgates Tennis AssociationLeague.

Margaret especially loved Christmas gatherings, family reunions, and trips to New England to visit withPaul's family. They traveled around the United States and to multiple countries abroad. Her favorite trips were to Japan and Italy.

She loved to garden, take walks and read books of all genres. She served for 30 years on theboard of the Friends of the Slidell Library. She volunteered for Toys for Tots and to collect back-to-school supplies at St.Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Slidell.

In addition to her husband,daughter and son, she is survived by her sonin-law, Stephen P. Lauland, Jr.; daughter-in-law, Sherri Langevin; four sisters, Ann LePre, Patricia A. Dunn, Mary Burd,Jeannie Baker ( Robert); two brothers, Thomas J. Halverson (Denise) ,Eric J. Halverson Jr. (Lorraine). Her grandchildren, Scott, Luke, and Tyler Lauland;Connor and Sarah Langevin; 12 nieces and nephews and 20 great nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother, Michael Halverson.

Her funeral will be held on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd, New Orleans. Visiting hours are 10 a.m. to noon. Afuneral Mass will be held at 12 p.m., followed by aburial in All SaintsMausoleum. In lieuofflowers, contributions in Margaret's memory can be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105 or online at stjude.org.

Sarah Alice Laneair peacefully entered into eternal rest on Thursday January 30, 2025, in Pen‐sacola, Florida She was 74 years old She was born in Meridian Mississippi on September 15, 1950 to the late Rufus and Sarah Laneair She moved to New Orleans, La. in 1967, with her grandmother. Sarah worked at Chateau De Notre Dame Care Center as a caregiver dedicating over 32 years od service. After retiring she enjoyed spend‐ing time with her family

She was a loving, God fear‐ing mother of 5 She touched so many lives dur‐ing her time here on earth She is survived by her chil‐dren, Kevin Laneair, Demtreal Laneair, Corey (Sarai) Laneair, Samuel (Demetrics) Laneair and Marquis (Taaka) Laneair

She is the loving sister to Mary Laneair, Sandra Avant Gail Bradley Darrin

Bradley and Artie "Bo Bradley She is also sur‐vived by 9 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren, a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and de‐voted friends She is pre‐ceded in death by her grandparents, Steve and Lee Anna Hilton, brothers Rufus "Dickie" Laneair Steve Bradley and 1 sister Deborah Bradley Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend the celebration of life service which will be held on Mon‐day, February 10, 2025, at Robinson Family Funeral Home 9611 LA-23, Belle ‐

Deborah Bradley. Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend the celebration of life service which will be held on Mon‐day, February 10, 2025, at Robinson Family Funeral Home, 9611 LA-23, Belle Chasse LA 70037. The visi‐tation will begin at 9 a.m , and the service will begin at 10 a.m. Bishop Cary Pay‐ton Jr. of Visions Church in Baton Rouge, La., ofﬁciat‐ing and interment will fol‐low at Restlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Avon‐dale, La. Funeral planning entrusted to Robinson Family Funeral Home 9611 LA-23, Belle Chasse, La 70037, (504) 208-2119. For online condolences, please visit www robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com

Lemons, Marilyn Margaret Dandry

Marilyn Margaret Dandry Lemons passed away on Thursday, Febru‐ary 6 2025. She was born in New Orleans, LA on De‐cember 12, 1948. She is sur‐vived by her loving hus‐band of 57 years, Gregory James Lemons; her chil‐dren, Mindy Lemons Pelle‐grin (John Nette) and Lanie Adair Lemons (Michael Harrity); her great-grand‐son, Adam Michael Pelle‐grin. She is also survived by her siblings, Margo Dandry, Elizabeth Williams Cindy Mendow (Jerry), Lex LeBlanc (Anita) and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and wonderful lifelong friends She was preceded in death by her mother Hazel Marie Trosclair; her grandson, Tate Douglas Pellegrin and her sister Dina LeBlanc McGraw. Mar‐ilyn was an accomplished talker, sewer, smocker, quilt maker and all around craftswoman She had the ability to make anything beautiful and her taste was impeccable She lived many places and traveled extensively, but home and family were her pride and joy Marilyn was instru‐mental in the raising of not only her own children, but had a huge role in the lives of her siblings, grandson, and great-grandson Though small in stature she was large in life and will be missed by all who knew and loved her. Rela‐tives and friends are in‐vited to attend the funeral services Thursday, Febru‐ary 13, 2025. There will be a visitation at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 W. 21st Ave Covington, LA 70433 on Thursday morning from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m followed by a Mass at St Jane de Chantal Catholic Church 72040 Maple St Abita Springs, LA 70420 on Thursday at 12:00 noon In‐terment will follow in Abita Springs Cemetery E.J Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with fu‐neral arrangements The Lemons family invites you to share thoughts, fondest memories, and condo‐lences online at E J. Field‐ing Funeral Home Guest Book at www ejﬁeldingfh com

Henry Lionel Henry

on January

Levet, Henry Lionel Henry Lionel Levet passed away on January 21, 2025, at the age of 82. He was born in New Or‐leans to the late Henry Michael Levet and Sydonie Haydel Levet He was a res‐ident of Bedico LA for the last eight years. He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Terri Fields Levet and his brother, Wayne Levet. He is survived by his sister, Alli‐son Levet Dupaquier. He served in the U.S Navy and was a professional archi‐tect. Services are being handled privately

Irma U. Lind passed away on Friday, January 31, 2025, at the age of 101. Preceded in death by her husband H. Eric Lind, daughter of the late John and Benalda Mendez, mother of Leroy, Ronald, Warren Lind and daughter Stephanie Punch, sister of Eduardo Mendez and Renee Brennan, grandmother of Lee Eric, John, Robert and Jason Lind, Daniel Fields andErica Fields. Great-grandmother of Eric, Keven, Wyatt and Arwen Fields. Great-grandmother of Elijah, Aaron and Hannah Trahan. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Irma volunteered at Tulane-Lakeside Hospital for 29 years in different capacities. She was amember of the St. Jude Society, St. Mary Magdalen Social Apostolate, H2U Club, and Circle of Friends of St. Chistopher Church for several years. Thefamily extends their appreciation to the staff at OurLady of Wisdom for their care over recent years. Also, much gratitude to the staff of Notre Dame hospice for ensuring her transition was peaceful.

Relatives andfriends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 3:00pm in the Chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home. Visitation will begin at 2:00pm. Private graveside prayers for immediate family.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Irma's honor may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN (www.stjude.org).

To view and sign the family guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairi e.com

Our Dear Dianawas found peacefully passed away in her home on January 20, 2025. She is the daughter of the late Justin and Olga McCarthy. Diana grew up in Uptown New Orleans with acultured education of dance, art, piano lessons and riding horses. She attended La Salle Grammar School, Eleanor McMain and graduated from Fortier High School. While in her teens, Diana had agreat love for horses. She volunteered to help at the Audubon Stables. In return, she was given ahorse to use and competed in Equestrian contests where she won ribbons for excellence. She went on to attend both LSU Baton Rouge and Lafayette. In her early 20's, she met and married Jose Maria Cundin and had two sons. Over theyears they lived between New Orleans and Spain. When her marriage ended, she returned to school obtaining a Masters in childhood education. Diana loved her work in the public school system while sheraised her sons. Shelater became asurgical tech and lastly was working at Alpha Insurance Co. as areceptionist/clerk before retiring. She was akind, fiercely independent, intelligent, creative andstrikingly beautifulperson whowas very devoted to family and loved by all. She will be sorely missed.

ACelebration of Life will be held on Saturday, February 15, from 2- 4pm at Moerbe Hall, 1539 St. Andrew Street, New Orleans, La. (behind Zion Lutheran Church on St. Charles Avenue) She is survived by her sons, LuisianaCundin, Fernando Cundin and his wife, Ivy Lim, her grandson Xavier Cundin, her siblings, Michaele McCarthy and Lawrence McCarthy, her nieces AliceGagaran Kelley Sellers, her nephew Connor McCarthy, and cousins Victoria Manno, Kathy Dutsch, David Voss, Michael, David, Terrence and Brian McCarthy. Her sister, Susan McCarthyFogacki and cousin, Lila Voss-Graffagnini, precede her in death.

Adedicated educator, Debbi earned her Masters in Special Education from the University of New Orleans and spentover 40 years teaching at St. Francis Xavier School. She was abeloved mentor, touching countless lives, and was honored with the prestigious Order of St. Louis IX Medallion for her service. Shealso played a key role in ing th

Lind, Irma

Melancon, Deborah Jo Danna 'Debbi'

Laneair, Sarah Alice

McCarthy-Cundin, Diana Hope

Our Dear Dianawas found peacefully passed away in her home on

beautifulperson whowas very devoted to family and loved by all. She will be

Hennessey

Levet,

Lionel Levet passed away

21, 2025, at the age of 82. He was born in New Or‐le Mi Ha ha

See more DEATHS, page

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. 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.

OPINION

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

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 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

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.

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.

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.

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

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 com-

monly 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

New Orleans Forecast

Meunier, Goldie Hayes

Morgan,Mary Falcone

DEATHS continued from

Debbi Melancon, alifelong New Orleans resident, passed awaypeacefully on January 28, 2025, at the age of 72, surrounded by her loving family. She is preceded in death by her parents, Clifford A Danna and Mary Kate Del Valle Danna.She is survived by her devoted husband of 44 years, Britt Paul Melancon; daughter, Meghan Melancon Martinez; and cherished grandchildren, Isabelle, Reese, and Cole. She is also survived by her siblings, Jay Danna, MaryBeth Danna Guarisco, and Tricia Danna King, as well as beloved extended family and friends. Adedicated educator, Debbi earned her Masters in SpecialEducation from the University of New Orleans and spent over40 years teaching at St. Francis Xavier School. She was abeloved mentor, touchingcountless lives, and was honored with the prestigious Order of St. Louis IX Medallion for her service. She also played a key role in earning the school aNational Blue Ribbon Award. Upon her retirement in 2022, the school builtDebbi's Garden in her honor. She will be honored at a private celebration of life. Forthe full obituary, pleasevisithttps://neptun esociety.com/obituaries.

Goldie Hayes Meunier passed awayonSaturday, February 1, 2025,atthe age of 80. She was anative of New Orleans and aresident of Mandeville.Goldie was preceded in death by her spouse of 20 years, Richard J. Meunier; her parents, John Robert Hayes and Elizabeth Hearn; and her sisters, Jeannette Pickle, Helen Uratta, Addie Nemeth, Vivian Dietze, and Elizabeth Lasavia. She is survived by her daughters, Debra Guillot (Gregory) and Cynthia Spann (Trent); her son, MorrillScott (Lurbin); her brothers, Marvin Pickle and John Hayes; her grandchildren, Tina Long, Lauren Guillot, Michael Guillot, Ashlyn Spann, Madison Spann, Daphne Scott, Belen Scott, and Richard Scott; and her great-grandchildren, Damien Scott and Aiden Long. Goldie dedicated her life to her family, raising her great-grandchild, Damien, as her own. She warmly welcomed her loving sister and best friend, Addie Nemeth, along with Addie's children, Clifton and Bobbie, into her home The youngest of eight, she was apillar of love and support to those around her. She traveled the world with her beloved husband, enjoying their passion for playing bridge. Agifted cook, she regularly prepared five-course meals for her family, ensuring that her table was always filled with love and an abundance of food for everyone to enjoy. Goldie will

Goldie HayesMeunier passed away on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at the age of 80. She was anative of New Orleans and aresident of Mandeville. Goldie was preceded in death by her spouse of 20 years, Richard J. Meunier; her parents, John Robert Hayesand Elizabeth Hearn; and her sisters, Jeannette Pickle, Helen Uratta, Addie Nemeth, Vivian Dietze,and Elizabeth Lasavia. She is survived by her daughters, Debra Guillot (Gregory) and Cynthia Spann (Trent); her son, Morrill Scott (Lurbin);her brothers, Marvin Pickle and John Hayes; hergrandchildren, Tina Long, Lauren Guillot, Michael Guillot, Ashlyn Spann, Madison Spann, Daphne Scott, Belen Scott, and Richard Scott; andher great-grandchildren, Damien Scott and Aiden Long. Goldie dedicated her life to herfamily, raising her great-grandchild, Damien, as her own. She warmly welcomed her loving sister and best friend, Addie Nemeth, alongwith Addie's children, Clifton and Bobbie,into her home. The youngest of eight, she was apillar of love and support to those around her. She traveled the world with her beloved husband, enjoying their passion for playing bridge. Agifted cook, she regularly prepared five-course meals for her family, ensuring that her table was always filled with love and an abundance of food for everyone to enjoy. Goldie will be laid to rest in aprivate ceremony for immediate family on Valentine'sDay, reuniting with herbeloved husband, Richard, once again.

Mary Falcone Morgan, 74, passed away on January 23, 2025. She is loved, treasured,and deeply missed by the countless lives she touched. Dedicating nearly four decades to the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Mary was affectionately known as the "den mother" at the Vocations Office. Compassionate and selfless, she loved unconditionally. Mary was strong reliable, practical, patient, and kind.She was relentless in her faithand always impeccably dressed.A problem solver and trusted advisor, she was devoted to her family, friends, and community. Mary is survived by her husband, Larry Morgan; her son, Matthew Morgan; her siblings, Danny Falcone, Susan Bourgeois, Stephen Falcone, Dorothy Trocquet, Peter Falcone, and Christine Impastato; and her beloved grand dogs. She was preceded in death by her parents, Vincent Falcone, Sr. and Dorothy Falcone, as well as her twin brothers, Vincent Falcone, Jr. and Michael Falcone. Public visitation begins at 10:00 AM on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at St. BenildeCatholic Church, 1901 Division St., Metairie, LA 70001, followed by Mass at Noon. Mary always opened her heart to those in need.In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to acharity in Mary's honor.

Mary Falcone Morgan, 74, passed away on January 23, 2025. She is loved, treasured, and deeply missed by the countless lives she touched. Dedicating nearly four decadestothe Archdiocese of New Orleans, Mary was affectionately known as the "denmother" at the Vocations Office. Compassionate and selfless, she lovedunconditionally. Marywas strong, reliable, practical,patient, and kind. She was relentless in her faith and always impeccably dressed. A problemsolverand trusted advisor, she wasdevoted to her family, friends, and community. Mary is survived by her husband, Larry Morgan; her son, Matthew Morgan; hersiblings, Danny Falcone, Susan Bourgeois, Stephen Falcone, Dorothy Trocquet, Peter Falcone, and Christine Impastato; and her beloved grand dogs. She was preceded in death by her parents, Vincent Falcone, Sr. and Dorothy Falcone, as well as her twin brothers, Vincent Falcone,Jr. and Michael Falcone. Public visitation begins at 10:00 AM on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at St. Benilde Catholic Church, 1901 Division St., Metairie, LA 70001, followed by Mass at Noon. Mary always opened her heart to those in need. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to acharity in Mary's honor.

Mortillaro, Salvadore Anthony

Salvadore Anthony Mor‐tillaro was born in New Or‐leans, Louisiana on Sep‐tember 2 1943, and passed away at his home in Cov‐ington on February 5 2025 at the age of 81. He grew up on the corner of Olive and Eagle Streets in New Orleans to Joseph P. Mor‐tillaro and Rosalie D Mor‐tillaro His parents were both children of Sicilian immigrants and passed on to him an incredible work ethic and drive of entrepre‐neurial spirit that lasted the entirety of his life He was incredibly personable with everyone he met, al‐ways treating and speak‐ing to strangers as if he d known them for their en‐tire lives. He loved to con‐nect with people over food and would relentlessly make restaurant recom‐mendations to anyone who would listen He also loved to cook and was known for creating cookbooks to give to his customers He en‐tered the Army National Guard in New Orleans where he learned electron‐ics repair on radars and then went to work at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility to help build Saturn V rockets. In 1973, he met the love of his life, Darlene Rossi, and wooed her with his orange Volkswagen Beetle and charming Burt Reynolds-esque looks which were enhanced by his open collared shirts and gold chain. Sal blazed his own path, owning many successful businesses throughout his years in‐cluding Qwik-Chek deli in Metairie, where he was the ﬁrst to coin the term “Overstuffed Po-Boy” to describe how he made his po-boys He later founded Clearview Auto Insurance in Metairie, but his most proud business accom‐plishment was when he

Salvadore Anthony Mor‐tillaro was born in New Or‐leans, Louisiana on Sep‐tember 2, 1943, and passed away at his home in Cov‐ington on February 5, 2025, at the age of 81. He grew up on the corner of Olive and Eagle Streets in New Orleans to Joseph P Mor‐tillaro and Rosalie D Mor‐tillaro. His parents were both children of Sicilian immigrants and passed on to him an incredible work ethic and drive of entrepre‐neurial spirit that lasted the entirety of his life. He was incredibly personable with everyone he met, al‐ways treating and speak‐ing to strangers as if he’d known them for their en‐tire lives He loved to con‐nect with people over food and would relentlessly make restaurant recom‐mendations to anyone who would listen. He also loved to cook and was known for creating cookbooks to give to his customers. He en‐tered the Army National Guard in New Orleans where he learned electron‐ics repair on radars and then went to work at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility to help build Saturn V rockets In 1973, he met the love of his life Darlene Rossi, and wooed her with his orange Volkswagen Beetle and charming Burt Reynolds-esque looks which were enhanced by his open collared shirts and gold chain. Sal blazed his own path owning many successful businesses throughout his years in‐cluding Qwik-Chek deli in Metairie, where he was the ﬁrst to coin the term “Overstuffed Po-Boy” to describe how he made his po-boys. He later founded Clearview Auto Insurance in Metairie, but his most proud business accom‐plishment was when he founded Clearview Auto Title & Notary in 1975 on the corner of Clearview Pkwy and West Napoleon where everyone knew its Big Man” statue as a Metairie icon and land‐mark. He later opened a lo‐cation in Covington in 2007 Despite his various profes‐sional successes, he would still tell you that his great‐est accomplishment was his family He was “dad” to Marguerite Mortillaro King (Jeff), Sal Mortillaro II (Tiffany) Nick Mortillaro and Marissa Mortillaro Puffer (Tyler). He was grandfather to Marguerite Maggie” Mastromatteo Kasie Hargis, Hilarie Lognion, Salvadore Mor‐tillaro III, Hale Puffer, Vivi‐enne Puffer, Dean Puffer, and Noah Puffer and greatgrandfather to 6 greatgrandchildren He put in long hours building his business to give his family everything they could ever want or need His love of travel brought him and his family on countless cruises, trips, and weekend getaways to the Missis‐sippi Gulf Coast. He was preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Rosalie Mortillaro, brother Joseph Mortillaro Jr (Penny), and sister Santa Mortillaro Quirk He is survived by his brothers, Steve Mortillaro and Henry Mortillaro, along with countless nieces and nephews A private, family graveside service will be held at EJ Fielding Funeral Home in Covington on Feb‐ruary 10, 2025, with a cele‐bration of life for his nu‐merous friends to be held at a later date E. J Fielding Funeral Home of Coving‐ton Louisiana, is honored to be entrusted with Mr Mortillaro’s funeral arrangements His family invites you to share thoughts, memories, and condolences by signing an online guestbook at www ejﬁeldingfh.com

A Mass of Christian bur‐ial honoring the life and legacy of the late James Clifford Peters, Jr., will be held at All Saints Catholic Church, 1441 Teche Street, New Orleans, LA 70114 on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 10 am Interment Mount Olivet Cemetery, 4000 Nor‐man Mayer Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70122. Visita‐tion 8 am with recitation of the Holy Rosary at 9 am followed by obituary read‐ing in the church Please sign online guestbook at www charbonnetfuneralho me.com Face mask and social distancing strongly encouraged. Charbonnet Labat Glapion Directors (504) 581-4411.

Although July 5, 1949, does not appear to be a day of historical significance, beloved family, friends, andcolleagues profited when Larry Bruce Rabin wasborn in his favorite city of New Orleans on this day. Born as the middle child of Sarah and Sam Rabin, Larry was always his mother's favorite. Growing up with his adoring sisters, Janis Rabin (Dr. Stan Alfred, z"l) andDr. Vicki Rabin Bursten (Andy), theirs was ahome of laughter and play, filled with friends and extended family with an open door policy. These siblings and their cousinsestablished a lifelong bond of love and loyalty that has continued with future generations of nieces andnephews. Janis, Vicki, andLarry remained by each other's side until Larry's final fight wasover on February 3, 2025. Many of Larry's childhood pals from these early years have also remained very close andimportant throughouthis life. This foundation of devotion and camaraderie would remain athread throughout Larry's life. His example remains an integral part of his extended family, and we are better at understanding howreal relationships are themost worthwhile currency that one can earn. Woven into his life wastrue resilience, courage, determination, and apassionate zest for life that was inspiringto those whoknewhim. He was agood man, amensch in the truest sense. An excellent athlete, Larry excelled in golf and basketball until these pursuits gave way to motorcycles, pinball, andperhaps some drag racing by the lake as he made his way through Newman School. He went on to Tulane but always cheered for LSU. He was competitive in all pursuits. One of these pursuits in his formative years turned out to be played in alonger game when he connected with Ann Lengsfield in high school. They wouldnot marry for many years, but this relationship would prove to be invaluable and agreat love story. In the meantime, Larry faced some early challenges. At theage of 21, his beloved father faced acritical illness. He bravely stepped in to lead the family business, The Orleans Shop, which later evolved into The Crate and Designers Anonymous. His determination and work ethic kept the family enterprise successfulfor many years. This experience in retail and Larry's natural fortitude and adaptability would serve him well in his next career in the commercial real estate industry. A 35 year career that started with John Kushner and Associates and flourished with Corporate Realty, Larry specialized in strategy and deal makingfor national

Mortillaro, Salvadore Anthony

Peters Jr., James Clifford

Rabin, Larry Bruce

Melancon, Deborah Jo Danna 'Debbi'

Meunier, Goldie Hayes

Morgan, Mary Falcone

Rabin, Larry Bruce

Eagles coach Nick

SPORTS

Eagles

QB Jalen Hurts

BY MATTHEW P Staff writer

Patrick Mahomes to the toughest

“The Super Kansas City Chiefs

“Pretty easy.”

The Philadelphia feeling.

Two years ago, just short in the hands of Mahomes, on Sunday, when in a rematch at me, Philadelp to get even in The Eagles fact, even though ni tried to downplay noting they’re from the ﬁrst game a 38-35 nates for many on Philadelph meeting.

“It lit a ﬂame, gles quarterback

“To have this exactly what Hurts did team could ask

Sirianni

LSU’s Gilbert looks to snap shooting slump ahead of rematch vs. SHAKE IT OFF

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 9 TCU extends home win streak to 19

ByTheAssociated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas Aaliyah

Roberson had a season-high 14 points as ninth-ranked TCU won its 19th consecutive home game and moved back into a share of the Big 12 lead with a 63-42 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday. Madison Conner had 13 points with three 3-pointers, and put the Frogs (22-3, 10-2 Big 12) ahead to stay with a deep 3 from the right wing with 7:32 left in the third quarter

Jasmine Shavers had 15 points for Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10), which never led while losing its ﬁfth game in a row Loghan Johnson had 11 points.

TCU was coming off a 59-50 loss at 12th-ranked Kansas State in a matchup then of co-leaders Wednesday night that was the Frogs’ season low for points. They are co-leaders again after the Wildcats lost 85-55 earlier Saturday at No. 25 Oklahoma State.

No. 25 OKLAHOMA 85, No. 12 KANSAS

STATE 55: In Stillwater, Oklahoma, Anna Gret Asi drilled a careerhigh eight 3-pointers and scored 24 points, Stailee Heard had a double-double and Oklahoma State blitzed Kansas State.

Asi had six 3s in the first half as the Cowgirls bolted to a 51-20 lead. After the Wildcats scored the first 10 points of the second half Oklahoma State reeled off 15 points. Heard had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma State (194, 9-3 Big 12 Conference) which matched its largest win against a ranked team in school history Micah Gray had 19 points. Gray and Heard both had three 3s and Asi ha Jaelyn Glenn had 13 points for the Wildcats (22-3, 10-2) and Serena Sundell had 11. The Cowgirls blitzed the Wildcats 31-9 in the opening quarter After missing their first shot, they hit nine straight, the last four of them 3-pointers. They hit 7 of 11 behind the arc in the first quarter No. 18 WEST VIRGINIA 79, HOUSTON 51: In Houston, JJ Quinerly had 16 of her 20 points in the first quarter, 13 in a game-opening 20-0 burst, and West Virginia rolled past Houston.

Quinerly and Jordan Harrison combined for all 25 points in the ﬁrst quarter when the Mountaineers took a 25-4 lead and Quinerly had 18 at halftime when the lead was 37-18. Harrison finished with 14 points for West Virginia (19-4, 9-3 Big 12 Conference). Sydney Shaw added 13 points and Kyah Watson 12. Gia Cooke led Houston (5-19, 1-12) with 16 points.

LSU guard Kailyn Gilbert takes the ball to the basket against Oklahoma

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 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 lefthanded hook shot through the rim, ending a fastpaced, 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 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

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.

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 big shots for you.”

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 Sunday’s effort 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.

falls to 2-11 in Southland with loss at HCU

ByTheAssociated Press

HOUSTON Julian Mackey had 27 points in Houston Christian’s 81-68 win against UNO on Saturday night. Mackey went 10 of 19 from the ﬁeld (5 for 12 from 3-point range)

for the Huskies (11-13, 8-5 Southland Conference)

Michael Thomas led the Privateers (4-20, 2-11) in scoring, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

NICHOLLS STATE 81, EAST TEXAS A&M

65: In Thibodaux, Michael Gray’s 20 points helped the Colonels win their fourth straight.

Gray added eight rebounds for the Colonels (15-9, 9-4 Southland Conference).

Sincere Malone scored 14 points while shooting 7 of 11 from the ﬁeld and added ﬁve rebounds.

Scooter Williams led the way for the Lions of Commerce, Texas (3-21, 1-12) with 22 points and six assists.

SOUTHEASTERN 71, INCARNATE WORD

66: In San Antonio, Jakevion Buckley’s 27 points led the Lions. Buckley also had six rebounds and three steals for the Lions (15-9, 9-4 SLC). Sam Hines scored 18 points and added 11 rebounds.

Kam Burton shot 4 for 9, including 3 for 8 from beyond the arc to ﬁnish with 12 points.

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.

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.”

Vitale makes return after fourth bout with cancer CLEMSON. S.C. — He’s back, baby!

ESPN’s Dick Vitale received a standing ovation Saturday night at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum in his ﬁrst game back as a commentator since recovering from his fourth bout with cancer About 30 minutes before Clemson faced Duke, Vitale was greeted by a roar from the crowd as he arrived on the ﬂoor from a tunnel and began to make his way to his courtside seat to call the game. Clemson’s PA announcer chimed in with his best Vitale impersonation, saying “Dickie V, you’re awesome, baby!” The 85-year-old Vitale appeared emotional as he waved to the crowd as they stood and cheered for nearly a minute.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

guard Zya Vann on Jan. 30 in

Woods’ big day not enough for Tulane men

BY GUERRY SMITH Contributing writer

The Tulane men’s basketball team gave itself a chance on Saturday behind a huge second-half performance from Asher Woods. Unfortunately for the Green Wave, North Texas answered with even better offense of its own. In a matchup of two teams that have played lock-down defense this season, the Mean Green scored on six of seven possessions while stretching a ﬁve-point lead to 13 midway through the second half and was comfortably ahead the rest of the way, winning 76-66 at the Super Pit in Denton, Texas.

Tulane (13-11, 7-4) fell to fourth place in the American Athletic Conference, a half-game ahead of Temple and Florida Atlantic.

North Texas (17-6, 8-3), which had lost two in a row to fall out of a tie for ﬁrst, played like a team that desperately did not want to drop a third straight The Mean Green was undefeated at home this year before a surprising defeat to Texas-San Antonio the previous Saturday “They’d been off for a week (since Monday) waiting on us,” Tulane coach Ron Hunter said.

“I thought (playing) four games in 10 days affected us, and they did something they haven’t done all year they made shots. They made tough shots and they made them inside of ﬁve seconds (on the shot clock). We lost to a good team that played well today.”

The Mean Green used a 20-2 run

early in the ﬁrst half to take control, going up 25-11. Trailing 39-26 at halftime, the Wave pulled within 48-43 on Woods’ 3-pointer at the 13:17 mark but got no closer North Texas forward Brenen Lorient hit a turnaround bank shot over Gregg Glenn the next time down the court. Grant New-

Vols beat Sooners in rare matchup

ByTheAssociated Press

NORMAN, Oklah. — Chaz Lanier

scored 21 points, Zakai Zeigler added 17 and No. 4 Tennessee beat Oklahoma 70-56 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.

Jalon Moore scored 12 points and Bryce Goodine added nine for Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7), which dropped its second straight game to a top-ﬁve opponent after winning three of four

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. Houston raced out to a 9-0 lead and looked on the brink of making quick work of the Buffaloes (9-14, 0-12). But Colorado took its time on offense, played tight defense and steadily chipped away 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 three-game losing streak.

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

Momcilovic had not played since Jan. 11, when the Cyclones (18-5, 8-4 Big 12) defeated Texas Tech in overtime. He suffered an injury to his non-shooting hand in practice before a game against Kansas on Jan. 15. Trazarie White and Vasean Allette scored nine points each for the Horned Frogs (12-11, 5-7) 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

COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

over the game early in the second half with Richardson leading the way

The Ducks (16-8, 5-8) lost five straight games for the ﬁrst time since the 2013-2014 season. No 10 TEXAS A&M 67, No. 15 MISSOURI

64: In Columbia, Wade Taylor made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to lift the Aggies.

Pharrel Payne scored 20 points, Taylor added 15 and Henry Coleman grabbed a career-best 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.

CREIGHTON 77, No. 11 MARQUETTE

67: In Omaha, Nebraska, Steven Ashworth scored 22 points and made a season-high six 3-pointers, including one in the last minute to help the Bluejays put away the Golden Eagles.

Creighton won nine straight games since losing 79-71 at Marquette on Jan 3. The Bluejays (186, 11-2) moved within one game of Big East leader St John’s.

Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 points and blocked four shots, and Jamiya Neal scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half for the Bluejays.

Kam Jones scored 27 points and David Joplin added 22 for Marquette (18-6, 9-4), which lost its third straight. Marquette wiped out an 11-point deﬁcit in the middle of the second half and took its last lead at 61-60 on Joplin’s layup with 6:34 left.

The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner hit a 3 to put the Bluejays up 67-63 with 3 1/2 minutes left.

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).

Collin Murray-Boyles scored 14 points for South Carolina (1013, 0-10), which dropped its 10th straight game and remained win-

ell then stepped in front of the 3-point line and sank a contested 18-footer at the end of the shot clock. Lorient followed with a mid-range jumper from the baseline before Atin Wright barely beat the buzzer with a driving lay-up that turned into a threepoint play and drew Kaleb Banks’ fourth foul at the 9:25 mark.

The closest Tulane came the rest of the way was nine points, and Jasper Floyd responded with baskets both times the second one on a step-back 3 he released with one second left on the shot clock.

North Texas, which had made barely more than ﬁve treys per game in conference play, tied its season high with 11 3s in 24 attempts. Normally inconsistent shooters Johnathan Massie and Latrell Jossell each went 3 of 3 in the ﬁrst half before cooling down.

“We wanted them to take 20 3s,” Hunter said. “They took them and they made them.”

Woods kept the Wave within striking distance scoring 12 points in the ﬁrst 10 minutes of the second half. He ﬁnished with 20 points, breaking his high total in two years at Tulane for the second consecutive game after scor-

ing 18 against Texas-San Antonio on Wednesday

Rowan Brumbaugh chipped in with 19 points 12 in the second half. Glenn contributed 14 with some nice moves in the lane, but the trio did not get enough help.

Banks, Tulane’s leading scorer for the year, failed to reach double figures for the third consecutive game, managing just two points on a tip-in. He missed two free throws well long early, did not attempt his first shot from the floor until less than four minutes remained in the first half and was off target on a pair of open 3s after the break.

Hunter substituted Mari Jordan for Banks to start the second half, although Banks still played 28 minutes and had a team-high seven rebounds.

Lorient led a balanced scoring effort for North Texas with 15 points, adding eight rebounds as the Mean Green dominated on the boards, 39-24.

“We were battling,” Hunter said. “But we were a step slow on everything.”

Tulane is off until hosting Rice next Saturday at the start of a stretch of six games against teams under .500 in AAC play.

less in conference play

KANSAS STATE 81, No. 16 KANSAS 73:

In Manhattan, Kansas, David N’Guessan scored 20 points and the Wildcats got their ﬁfth straight win, including three against ranked opponents.

Dug McDaniel added 15 points and Max Jones and Coleman Hawkins each scored 12 as Kansas State (12-11, 6-6 Big 12) beat Kansas for the third straight game in Manhattan, after two overtime victories over the Jayhawks. Hunter Dickinson scored 21 points, Zeke Mayo added 15 and KJ Adams 13 for Kansas (16-7, 7-5).

Kansas State extended its lead to 55-43 at the 17:20 mark of the second half and maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way

No.21WISCONSIN 74,IOWA 63: In Iowa City, Iowa, John Tonje scored 22 points and John Blackwell added 19 to lead the Badgers.

Tonje scored 11 points in a game-closing 16-4 run by the Badgers (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten), who won their third straight. Tonje shot 5 for 11 from the ﬁeld and hit 9 of 10 free throws, including eight straight in the ﬁnal seven minutes.

Wisconsin held Iowa (13-10, 4-8) to one ﬁeld goal over the ﬁnal 71/2 minutes and limited the Badgers to 8-for-27 shooting in the second half.

Pryce Sandfort led Iowa with 14 points. Josh Dix had 13 points and Drew Thelwell 11. Payton Sandfort, who is averaging 16.6 points in Big Ten play, had seven points on 2-for-11 shooting.

No. 24 MICHIGAN 70, INDIANA 67: In Bloomington, Indiana, Danny Wolf ﬁnished with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Tre Donaldson and Vladislav Goldin each added 18 points to help the Wolverines hold on.

Wolf also had five assists as the Wolverines (18-5 10-2) won their fourth straight and five of six. In coach Dusty May’s return to Assembly Hall, the former Indiana student manager and Bob Knight protege also helped Michigan snap a four-game losing streak in the series. Malik Reneau led the Hoosiers with 16 points and five assists despite playing with a brace protecting his right knee — one day after athletic director Scott Dolson announced coach Mike Woodson would not return next season.

By theAssociated Press

AUBURN,Ala. — Sixth-ranked Florida made program history with its victory over No. 1 Auburn on Saturday It wasn’t the Gators’ 90-81 win over the Tigers that’ll find its way into the program’s record books. Florida had already taken down a top-ranked team this season, beating then- No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7. Saturday’s win marked the first time the Gators have beaten a No. 1 team in a true road game. It was also the first home loss and the first SEC loss of the season for Auburn (21-2, 9-1 Southeastern Conference). Coming into the game, Florida (20-3, 7-3) had lost all seven of its previous road games against No. 1 teams.

“This is probably the toughest place to play in America right now, against the best team in America, and we showed out for 40 minutes,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said. “I thought we were the mentally and physically tougher team.”

Florida notched the win without No. 2 scorer Alijah Martin, who was ruled out with a hip injury Instead, the Gators leaned heavily on leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr., who played the entire game. After missing Florida’s win at Vanderbilt earlier this week with an ankle injury, Clayton ﬁnished with 19 points and nine assists.

“I looked over at him and said I was going to run him for all 40 minutes,” Golden said.

Clayton’s response? “No problem.” Auburn raced out to an early 10-point lead in the ﬁrst six minutes of the game. Then, Florida dominated the rest of the first half, outscoring Auburn 43-23. The Gators then scored 20 of the ﬁrst 29 points of the second half.

“I mean, they just came in here like they had to win it,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said of Florida. “That’s how they played their possessions. And they played harder They played better. They played more desperately

“We did not look like the No. 1 team in the country We didn’t act like the No. 1 team in the country.

We didn’t prepare like it. And, as a result, we got beat.”

Entering Saturday, Auburn hadn’t allowed more than 70 points in a home game this season. Florida got to that mark with 12:31 left on the clock.

“It’s definitely tough to get a win on the road in the SEC in general, especially against a No. 1 team,” Clayton said. “Auburn, they’re a great team. They do a lot of things well. But we prepared well, and we came out, and we executed.” Florida was able to hold up well against Auburn’s frontcourt, which was led by Johni Broome, a ﬁfth-year senior and preseason Associated Press All-American who is considered a contender for national player of the year While Broome ﬁnished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, he missed 11 of 19 shot attempts.

Golden praised his team for consistently defending Broome’s dominant left hand on his inside touches. Alex Condon had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Florida up front, while Thomas Haugh added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks off the bench.

“(Broome) has played like the best player in America to this point,” Golden said. “He deserves that recognition. I recruited Johni when I ﬁrst got at Florida, and Bruce punked me there and got the best player in America for a few years.”

Offensively, Florida had 22 assists on 31 made baskets The assist count was the team’s highest in SEC play this season, well above its 13.9 per conference game average.

Those 22 assists were also the most that Auburn had allowed all season by a considerable margin: Purdue had the previous high mark of 13, in December Florida hit 13 shots from 3-point range, which was also its top mark in SEC play this season Urban Klavzar came off the bench and was perfect on all three of his shots from long distance.

“It was the way they played out of the ball screen and shared the ball and spaced (out),” Pearl said. “And they banged a bunch of shots. I mean, they banged a bunch of shots. And their bench really stepped up for them.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BUTCH DILL Florida guard Walter Clayton is fouled by Auburn guard Chad BakerMazara, second from left, as he attempts a 3-pointer on Saturday in Auburn, Ala.

STAFF PHOTO By SCOTTTHRELKELD

Tulane guard Asher Woods talks to teammates during a game against UNO at Devlin Fieldhouse on Nov.

Tennessee forward Igor Milicic drives against Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears on Saturday in Norman, Okla.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GERALD LEONG

Interceptions. 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.

Kendrick 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.

Moore. 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.

For

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.

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

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 MATTyORK Super Bowl LIX halftime show performer Kendrick Lamar smiles during a news conference Thursday.

STAFF PHOTO By SCOTTTHRELKELD 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.

CAESARS

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:

Pregame tears mean Jones ready for ‘war’

BY DAVE SKRETTA APsportswriter

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.”

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

RUSHING ATTEMPTS: Over 51/2 (-135); under 51/2 (+105)

LONGEST RUSH: Over 81/2 (+110); under 81/2 (-145)

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)

Marquise Brown RECEIVING YARDS: Over 611/2 (-115); under 611/2 (-115)

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

and

Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?

BILL SHAIKIN

LosAngelesTimes (TNS)

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?

“I don’t think so,” said Mark Walter, the Dodgers’ controlling owner Let’s ask someone not wearing a Dodgers polo shirt. Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?

“I don’t agree with that,” said Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball.

The Dodgers’ current roster is the newest and perhaps best use of the phrase “embarrassment of riches.”

For the 2025 season, the Dodgers are projected to spend a record half-billion dollars on player salaries, beneﬁts and luxury taxes. Their projected tax payment of $138 million exceeds the opening day payrolls of 13 MLB teams last season. We came to the MLB owners’ meetings to find out if this would be a problem for the sport. Manfred, who is hired by the 30 owners, chose his words carefully

“The Dodgers are a really well-run, successful organization,” Manfred said. “Everything that they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They’re trying to give their fans the best possible product. Those are all positives.

“I recognize, however — and my email certainly reﬂects it — there are fans in other markets who are concerned about their team’s ability to compete. We always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers? I’m not in that camp.”

Arrests

It’s not just the fans, though. It’s the owners publicly commenting on the Dodgers’ spending, and not just the small-market owners. The owner of the Chicago Cubs talked about it The owner of the New York Yankees talked about it.

That is signiﬁcant, because money issues often divide the owners and the players less than they divide the large-market owners and the small-market owners.

The collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2026 season. If the owners unite against Dodger-like spending, that would put the 2027 season in jeopardy.

“There are some owners that have concerns,” Manfred said. “This is an issue that we need to be vigilant on We need to pay attention to it. We need to determine whether there are things that can be done to allay those kinds of concerns and make sure we have a competitive and healthy game going forward.”

MLB officials love to tout competitive balance. If the Dodgers repeat as World Series champions, they would be the first team to do so in 25 years. If the Dodgers and Yankees return to the World Series, that would be the ﬁrst rematch in 47 years.

On Sunday, meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs will try to win the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year

However, in the hallways here, this statistic was shared: How many teams outside the top 10 markets have won a World Series in the past 20 years? Answer: Two. The St. Louis Cardinals won, twice, and the Kansas City Royals.

“I think there are a bunch of different ways to mea-

sure competitive balance,” Manfred said. “I think it’s a different question to say: Do people perceive that the playing ﬁeld is balanced and fair and/or do people believe that money dictates who wins? Those are separate concerns from who actually wins on the ﬁeld.”

If the owners unify behind the perception that payroll is destiny, and if they start banging that drum publicly that could well lead toward the pursuit of a salary cap.

That line of thought outrages Tony Clark, the executive director of the players’ union. MLB generated a record $12 billion in revenue last season. He does not believe the Dodgers should bring the league to a halt.

“The league, and the owners it represents, have been predicting doom for decades to justify more restrictions on salaries,” Clark told The Los Angeles Times, “but the game is healthier than it’s ever been. The real question is: Why aren’t all teams, across all markets, using the resources we know they have to put their best foot forward in an effort to be the last team standing?

“How is it that the game is breaking revenue records, but we have as many teams as we do who are unwilling to improve their club by signing players especially in a world where more teams make the playoffs than at any point in our history?”

In deciding how to proceed in the next round of collective bargaining, the owners could be influenced by potential declines in franchise values. Manfred’s predecessor, Bud Selig, liked to say owners should judge him by their franchise values.

in burglaries targeting athletes are

‘tip of the iceberg’

BY JOHN SEEWER AND DAVE COLLINS

Associated Press

For months, daring bands of thieves linked to South American gangs have been making off with piles of jewelry and cash from the homes of the biggest superstars in sports, targeting the likes of the NFL’s Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

Sophisticated pillagers have deployed drones and signal jamming devices, sometimes posing as delivery drivers or maintenance workers, to gain access to gated neighborhoods and thwart home security systems, according to warnings issued by the NFL and NBA.

But in recent weeks, investigators across the U.S. have made a handful of arrests connected to at least one of the high-proﬁle heists and discovered stolen sports memorabilia, jewelry and art stuffed into storage units in New Jersey

A group of Chilean men stopped in January while driving in Ohio were charged Monday with stealing nearly $300,000 worth of designer luggage, watches and jewelry from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s house. Photos showed one suspect wearing a sparkly necklace with Burrow’s jersey number that he had worn during interviews, according to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday

“These individuals seem to be the alleged tip of the iceberg,” said Kenneth Parker, the U.S. Attorney in southern Ohio, who believes the men are working with South American theft rings that for years have been ransacking opulent homes from coast to coast. Some luxury watches and jewelry stolen from homes across the country — not just

those belonging to athletes — ended up being sold at a pawnshop in Manhattan’s Diamond District and stashed away in nearby storage units, federal authorities said in court documents released Tuesday that accuse two men of fencing the items

Whether the entire string of burglaries targeting athletes are connected to the same crews from South America or if those groups are working together isn’t clear Federal authorities leading the investigations have been tight-lipped since the FBI warned in December that crime organizations were preying on professional athletes

Investigators say international crime rings have looted high-end houses for years, but now they’re going after some of the biggest names in the NFL, NBA and NHL.

Thieves broke into the homes of Kansas City Chiefs teammates Mahomes and Kelce within days of each other in October around the time they played New Orleans and Kelce’s superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift watched the game from the stands

Mahomes and Kelce on Sunday will try to lead the Chiefs to a record three straight Super Bowl titles

Jewelry valued at about $30,000 was stolen from NBA All-Star Luka Doncic’s home in Dallas in December Pittsburgh Penguins

star Evgeni Malkin reported a home invasion in January that happened while his team was playing at home.

Law enforcement ofﬁcials warned sports leagues last fall that thieves had been striking on game days when they knew the players would not be home, often smashing through rear windows.

Some of the groups scoped out their targets by posing as home delivery drivers or joggers in secluded neighborhoods

Davis shines in Mavericks debut before getting hurt

TheAssociated Press

DALLAS Anthony Davis had 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in his Mavericks debut but left the game late in the third quarter with a lower-body injury as Dallas beat the Houston Rockets 116-105 on Saturday

Max Christie, who was acquired with Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers a week ago in the trade that sent superstar Luka Doncic to L.A., added 23 points for the Mavericks after playing twice for Dallas on the road this week.

Davis, who had not played since Jan. 28 because of an abdominal strain, assisted on the Mavericks’ first field goal four seconds in, scored six of Dallas’ first 14 points and had a double-double before halftime. He played 31 minutes.

Davis said he felt tightness in his groin and quadriceps, and part of the reasoning for not returning was

him still recovering from the abdominal strain. He said the injury isn’t serious.

Alperen Sengun scored 30 points and Jalen Green 24 for Houston, which has a season-long six-game losing streak. Sengun scored 15 in the third quarter, when the Rockets opened on a 21-4 run and cut a 21-point second-quarter deﬁcit to two.

With some Mavericks fans still protesting the controversial trade outside American Airlines Center before tipoff, Davis received huge ovations when he took the court for warmups and was announced in the starting lineup.

LAKERS 124, PACERS 117: In Los Angeles, Austin Reaves scored a career-high 45 points and the streaking Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 124-117 on Saturday without LeBron James or Luka Doncic.

Rui Hachimura scored 24 points for LA on his 27th birthday The Lakers have

won ﬁve straight and 11 of 13

Los Angeles jumped to a 25-point lead in the ﬁrst half, and Reaves scored 14 points in the fourth quarter while the Lakers held off Indiana, the fourth-place team in the Eastern Conference, even without their two superstars. James sat with left ankle soreness, while Doncic watched his third straight game from the Lakers’ bench as he nears a return from the strained left calf that has sidelined him since Christmas James and Doncic sat together and talked throughout the game ahead of their expected joint debut Monday against Utah. Pascal Siakam scored 23 points and Tyrese Halliburton had 19 for the Pacers, who erased most of their huge deﬁcit before fading in the fourth quarter Indiana lost for only the fourth time in 17 games.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO

Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis hangs on the rim after dunking on Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason, left, and center Alperen Sengun during the first half Saturday in Dallas. Davis later was injured in his Dallas debut.

THE VARSITY ZONE

Powell not locked into one system

New Country Day coach speaks on schemes, other topics

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Don’t get it mixed up. Ben Powell did not attend the same high school as Baker Mayﬁeld.

The Pro Bowl quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas.

Powell, 48, attended Travis — another school about 10 miles away, but also in Austin.

Now the head football coach at Country Day, Powell drew inspiration from longtime Travis coach Cleo Halm.

“My senior year was like his retirement year, and he’d been coaching since like the 1950s at that point,” said Powell, who described Halm as “a super-old-school guy But he had a huge impact on me.” Country Day, which won four games last season, announced Powell as the head coach last week.

He found success at past head coaching stops at Walter L. Cohen and most recently at Haynes Academy, which went 9-0 in the regular season last year

Here is some of what

Powell said about the new job. It seems like you won at places that don’t always have winning football programs.What kind of impact did that have on you getting this job?

When you’re in a smaller school, you’re going to deal with a smaller roster, right? And a lot of times that presents a ton of different challenges. And I’ve had experience in small schools One of the challenges to Country Day is they’ve been at the top of 1A but then they’ve been right at the bottom of 2A a lot. And that does put you at a disadvantage at the bottom of a division. You could end up playing schools that are twice as big as you in the same divisions and with rosters that are two or three times the size of you in the same division. So, for me, that’s one of the challenges.

How do you confront that challenge?

I think you have to be willing to really do a deep dive on your roster and play to your strengths. I think sometimes when guys come from maybe a bigger-school environment they say, ‘Hey, I run ‘X’ system and I’m only going to do this.’ Or, you know ‘I’m only going to run a certain defense.’ Whereas I think what we did at Haynes and going back to Cohen was every year we said ‘Hey look we’ve got some maybe base plays that we were going

to run or some base ideas,

but we’re going to look at what our talent can do and whatever that may be.’ In the last two jobs we’ve done everything from being super old-school single-wing to ﬁve-wide spread and kind of everything in between.

You opened last season against Country Day and won.What were your impressions?

They have a strong group of kids coming back as far as at the quarterback position. They’ve got three or four quality wide receivers. We’re going to start from a four-wide environment and probably throw the football. I think probably some people will say, ‘Oh, you know Ben Powell has been running the single-wing, or he’s been run oriented,’ but we throw the football too. Defensively, just like any small school, you don’t have enough lineman so defensively, we’ll look to be some sort of 3-4 or 3-3 stack.

Any last thoughts on coaching at Haynes? You had a great, undefeated regular season? I had super supportive administration. Great parents. Kids who always showed up to work hard. Tough. We had a great run, and I’m thankful for that opportunity I’m thankful for my time there. Amazing teachers. Amazing program. You can’t say enough about it. And I just wish everybody in the building the best with their next head coach.

SOCCER QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

Holy Cross staves off St. Aug, maintains lead

Tigers

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Asked who the folks were who said the upstart Tigers wouldn’t win a district game, Kirkwood said “all of our district counterparts.”

Kirkwood said he would rank this win against St. Augustine as “the best because I don’t think St. Aug thought we would beat them.”

Mister Kirkwood has more wins than any basketball coach in Holy Cross history And his favorite among the 214 victories over 10 seasons came Friday when the host Tigers defeated St. Augustine 5143. Sophomore guard Abe Taylor scored 19 points as the Tigers overcame an early deﬁcit, built a large lead and then withstood a strong charge from St Augustine to preserve the win.

The win kept Holy Cross (21-3 overall, 5-0 District 9-5A) in sole possession of first place in the Catholic League with two district games remaining.

The Tigers have won with a lineup that includes two seniors and three sophomores. Another of those sophomores is 6-foot-5 forward Aiden McKinney, who had 10 points and six rebounds.

Other key players include seniors Cashmere Pichon and Javian Neco, who along with Taylor were the only players with varsity experience when the season began.

The win might have silenced “those folks (who) said we wouldn’t win a game in district,” Kirkwood said.

Kirkwood said his team drew fuel from “those adults” in the crowd who were “screaming at kids for no reason. All you need is something to fuel the fire. We just use that little energy to fuel the ﬁre and — phew — there you go.”

The coach gave plenty of credit for the growth of his team to Pichon, whose experience as a four-year varsity player has helped the younger players.

“If you listen to the game, Cash is directing traffic,” Kirkwood said. “He’s telling those young guys where to be. He’s a great leader It’s like having a coach on the ﬂoor.”

Kirkwood also said how the unselfish Pichon has been “giving up some points to guard against the other team’s best player.”

Pichon said he wants “to be the best leader for this team and lead them to a state championship. I feel like coach Mister deserves it. He’s done a lot for me. He’s done a lot for this team.”

Taylor and the other young players put their trust in Pichon.

“Whatever Cash tells us to do, we’re going to do it,” Taylor said. “We’re going to get it done for him.”

Seven ﬁrst-quarter turnovers for Holy Cross let St. Aug build a 16-8 lead. After that, Holy Cross only had six turnovers the rest of the way and led by 16 points in the third quarter, before St. Augustine drew within three points in the fourth and attempted two 3-pointers with a chance to tie the score. Holy Cross rebuilt the lead when Taylor made a 3-pointer off an inbounds pass from under the basket. That sparked a run that put the Tigers ahead by 10 points.

Sophomore Aaron Miles led St. Aug in scoring with 15 points, including three 3-pointers Foul trouble kept him out for about a quarter of game time in the second and third quarters something that coach Wade Mason said affected his team at both ends of the ﬂoor

“We laid an egg,” said Mason, whose team could have moved into a tie for the dis-

come

“We

ship.” St. Aug senior Jakobe Shepeard had 14

and ﬁve rebounds. The

honored

wood before the

Early on not everything went smoothly against St. Augustine (22-4, 3-2).

for setting the school career wins record. Another win Tuesday against Rummel would clinch at least a share of the district championship. The final district game Friday against secondplace John Curtis (4-1 in district) could be for the outright title.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JOHN MCCUSKER

Haynes Academy coach Ben Powell talks to Tom Cagle on the sideline against Thomas Jefferson on Oct. 10 at yenni Stadium in Metairie.

Pichon

OUTDOORS

Freeze exacted big toll

Fishing guide Lambert says arctic front killed ‘thousands’ of fish

BY JOE MACALUSO

Contributing writer

Ryan Lambert has seen his share of tragedies at and from his lodge in Buras. The longtime fishing/ duck hunting guide has recovered from massive hurricanes during the summer months and deadly wintertime freezes Now, it’s this latest arctic invasion and historic snowfall that has him a bit saddened — and puzzled.

“There were thousand s of dead fish, mostly (speckled) trout at the Chandeleurs (islands). One of the guys out there picked up five trout weighing 30 pounds. Big fish,” Lambert said. He talked about the freeze-killing temperatures that ravaged waters in the Port Sulphur waters: “Devastated, thousands are dead.

An extensive kill of trout and reds.”

The puzzling part came when touring Yellow Cotton Bay an expanse of water on the west side of the Mississippi River running from near Buras south to near Venice.

“Big redﬁsh, I mean the big ones. Dead. Unusual. Not the little reds. The real big ones,” he said

For his targeted fishing location waters east of the Mighty Mississip. Lambert reported “hardly nothing dead over there. There are live fish on the east side, and we’re catching fish. It’s a home run for us.” Reports similar to the Port Sulphur kill came from inside waters near Montegut and Chauvin, and, to a much lesser extent in the Biloxi March.

A preliminary report, one labeled as “Subject to Revision,” came from Wildlife and Fisheries’ Marine Fisheries Section late last week. Noted was record snowfall and freezing air temperatures for 4-6 days depending on location in the coastal area, even as far south as Grand Isle.

As with all Arctic invasions like this, they’re measured against the extraordinary low temperatures of Christmas, 1989.

The report stated: “When compared to the freeze of late December, 1989, where water temperatures remained below 32° Fahrenheit for about 100 hours near Grand Isle, this freeze was not as long in duration. While some shallow marsh ponds saw ice form around the edges in this event, the freeze of 1989 resulted in ice forming on Lake Pontchartrain and other larger coastal waterbodies, which was not the case with this event.” The 1989 freeze affected all ar-

MONDAY RED STICK FLY FISHERS MEETING: 7 p.m., Regional Branch Library 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge Open to the public. Email Brian Roberts: roberts.brian84@gmail.com Website: rsff.org

WEDNESDAY LA. FINFISH TASK FORCE MEETING: 10 a.m., state Wildlife & Fisheries headquarters, 2000 Quail Drive Baton Rouge.

BUGS & BEERS: 6:30 p.m., Skeeta Hawk Brewing, 455 N. Dorgenois Street, New Orleans. Fly tying. Open to the public. Email A.J. Rosenbohm: ajrosenbohm@gmail.com. Website: neworleansﬂyﬁshers.com

THURSDAY-SATURDAY

BASSMASTER OPEN/DIVISION 2: Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Jasper, Texas. Website: bassmaster.com

MLF TOYOTA BASS SERIES/SOUTHERN DIVISION: Lake Okeechobee Clewiston, Florida. Website: MajorLeagueFishing.com

THURSDAY-SUNDAY

MLF BASS PRO TOUR: Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, Florida. Website: MajorLeagueFishing.com

ONGOING

DERELICT CRAB TRAP REMOVAL: Through Feb. 14, Pontchartrain Basin (west of Causeway) & Vermilion-

Detry grabs 5-shot lead in Phoenix; Spieth 2nd

ByTheAssociated Press

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.

“Getting off to such a good start was kind of the dream today,” Detry said. “I felt a bit nervous on the first and I hit that 9-iron to 2, 3 feet. Hit many fairways, as well. I don’t think I missed a shot in the ﬁrst ﬁve, six holes.”

The two-time Belgian Olympian made a 19-foot par putt on the par-4 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. He’s gone 45 holes without a bogey

DOCUMENTED FISH KILLS AS OF THURSDAY

As noted in the Wildlife and Fisheries report as of Thursday, state biologists and field staff documented working 77 fish kills statewide.

What they found is approximate numbers for the major species.

Other saltwater species also were found:

■ 12,552 spotted seatrout (speckled trout) ■ 6,568 red drum (redfish)

eas across the state, which left recreational and commercial ﬁshermen with much-reduced catches in 1990 and 1991 before a strong recovery in 1992.

Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Jason Adriance said when water temperatures fall below 40 degrees, and remain for more than one day — some as long as four days — it stresses species like speckled trout, redﬁsh, black drum, sheepshead and mullet to a lethal stage. His report cited all major coastal basins had water temperatures below 40 “with some areas recording water temperatures as low as 32 in very shallow areas, resulting in widespread ﬁsh kills.”

Another cause of the kills came when air temperatures combined with strong north winds chilled water temperature to as low as 32 in several hours, not days, places where ﬁsh did not have a chance to reach deeper water before the full impact of the arctic blast.

Adriance mentioned the Marine Fisheries Section uses a Winter Severity Index to track speck-

Teche Basin(north of Marsh Island); through Feb. 21, Barataria Basin (south of Laﬁtte). Also: Feb. 15-28, Terrebonne Basin (between Dulac and Cocodrie) & Feb. 17-26, northern half of Calcasieu Lake.

HUNTING SEASONS

Deer seasons allow for either-sex take except when there is a bucksonly season in progress.

DEER/ARCHERY: Through Feb. 17, State Deer Areas 5, 6 & 9. Closed in State Deer Areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 & 10.

SNIPE: Through Feb. 28, statewide.

QUAIL/RABBITS/SQUIRRELS: Through March 2, private lands and selected wildlife management areas.

GEESE/CONSERVATION ORDER: East & West zones through March 2. Limited to take of blue, snow and Ross’ geese only. No daily nor possession limits. Hunters allowed to use electronic calls and shotguns capable of holding more than three shells.

AROUND THE CORNER

FEB. 18—LAFAYETTE KAYAK FISHING CLUB MEETING: 6 p.m., Pack & Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Website: lafayettekayakﬁshing.com

FEB. 19—FLIES & FLIGHTS: 7 p.m., Rally Cap Brewing, 11212 Pennywood Ave., Baton Rouge. Fly tying. Open to public. Spare tools, materials for novices. Dec. 17. Email Chris Williams: thefatﬁngeredﬂytyer@ gmail.com

■ 2,142 black drum

■ 2,657 sheepshead

■ 19,107 striped mullet (mostly in the Pontchartrain Basin)

■ Speckled trout, redfish and black drum mortality was highest in the Terrebonne/Timbalier Basin.

■ Sheepshead mortality was highest in the Barataria Basin.

■ Dead fish varied in size and were not limited to particular size classes, but more under 20-inch

led trout stocks, and the 2025 WSI (runs from November 2024 through March 2025) shows a similar wintertime pattern to 1996, 2000, and 2014 in severity

“The WSI, which explains approximately 50% of the annual variability in recreational catch or approximately 69% in the variability of individual angler catch per effort, uses a relationship between the number of total days water temperature stays below 44 and total catch or catch per angler,”

Adriance wrote in the report.

It’s at 44 where stresses are found in speckled trout stocks.

Adriance noted few fish kills were reported to the agency, and most of what was seen came after biologists and staff were able to get on the water

Through Thursday, these teams came up with near 77 fish kills across the coastal area and in all major basins.

Adriance said the effect of the winter storm didn’t have the same affect across the coast.

“While there were some concentrated areas with significant

FEB. 19-20—GULF COUNCIL RECRE-

ATIONAL WORKING GROUP MEETING: Council ofﬁce, 4107 West Spruce Street, Suite 200, Tampa, Florida. Via webinar. Also: public comment via virtual public input session, 5-8 p.m. CST, March 6. Website: gulfcouncil.org/recreationalinitiative/ FEB. 20—ACADIANA FLY RODDERS PROGRAM: 6 p.m., Pack & Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Open to public. Email Darin Lee: cbrsandcdc@gmail.com. Website: acadianaﬂyrodders.org . FEB. 20-23—BASSMASTER ELITE SERIES: St. Johns River, Palatka, Florida. Website: bassmaster.com

FEB. 21-22—LA. B.A.S.S. NATION

QUALIFIER: Toledo Bend. Call Kevin Gobert (504) 628-5191 or Ryan Lavigne (225) 921-9332. FEB. 21-23—MLF BASS INVITATIONAL: Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Kissimmee, Florida. $80,000 ﬁrst place. Website: MajorLeagueFishing.com

FEB. 22—LA. HIGH SCHOOL/JUNIOR

QUALIFIER/EAST DIVISION: North Pass, Manchac. Call Tommy Abbott (504) 722-6638. Website: louisianahighschoolbassnation.com

FEB. 22—CENLA FLY FISHING 101: 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Booker-Fowler Fish Hatchery, 10 Joan Stokes Road, Forest Hill. Free. Preregistration required. Hands-on casting, tackle setup & ﬂy selection. Kisatchie Fly Fishers event. Website: kisatchieﬂy org.

redfish, more under 14-inch speckled trout, more under 17inch sheepshead and more black drum longer than 14 inches were counted.

■ Dead speckled trout ranged from 6-23 inches, redfish from 5-41 inches, black drum from 7-36 inches, sheepshead from 6-24 inches and mullet from 6-19 inches.

Joe Macaluso

amounts of dead fish, most coastal marshes had light, but widespread scattered mortality observed for saltwater finfish,” he reported.

And, he concluded, the total impact on fish populations of this January event might not be evident this year and possibly not next year and that “estimates of the total number of fish killed during this freeze event may not become available with any high degree of confidence given the widespread and sporadic nature of observed fish kills and associated mortality.”

He also explained fishermen likely will see fish “with sores and lesions as we move into spring since fish that survived will have been stressed during the freeze and will be more susceptible to diseases and infections.”

With last week’s much warmer conditions, anglers who headed out into water east of the Mississippi River, in the Pontchartain Basin, came in with enough speckled trout to show them, like Lambert said, that the ﬁsh in this area likely survived better than some areas.

FEB. 23—SOUTH LOUISIANA HIGHPOWER CLUB MATCH: 8:30 a.m., Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Range, St. Landry Road, Gonzales. NRA match rifle or service rifle, 200-yard/50rounds match course & Prone Match. Fee $15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 juniors. $25 annual club (first match free)& Civilian Marksmanship Program membership (allows purchases from CMP). Call (337) 380-8120. Email Mike Burke: SouthLaHighPower@hotmail. com

FISHING/SHRIMPING

SHRIMP: Inshore season closed except in Breton/Chandeleur sounds & all outside waters open.

CLOSED SEASONS: Greater amberjack, red snapper; gag, goliath & Nassau groupers in state/federal waters.

OPEN RECREATIONAL SEASONS: Flounder; lane, blackﬁn, queen and silk snappers & wenchmen among other snapper species; all groupers except closed for goliath & Nassau groupers in state/federal waters.

LDWF UPDATES

CLOSED: Camp Bayou Road, Dewey Wills WMA to large vehicles, but ATVs/UTVs allowed. Hope Canal Road/boat launch (Maurepas Swamp WMA, levee construction).

EMAIL: jmacaluso@theadvocate.com

Spieth is coming off a wrist surgery and feels like he’s ahead of schedule.

“This is certainly ahead of schedule for this week,” Spieth said. “I’ve had a good history here, so we’ll see how I continue to progress on other courses, but tomorrow, I’m going to have to hit more fairways because I’m going to have to hit it closer to try to catch Thomas.”

Rasmus Hojgaard, Daniel Berger and Michael Kim also were 13 under Hojgaard shot a 65 after shaking off a double bogey on 15 and ﬁnishing with back-to-back birdies. Berger shot 66, making an eagle on 15 and birdies on 16 and 18. Kim had a 68. Detry cooled off after the torrid start, but had a few good scrambles to keep his advantage. His best save might have been on the par-5 13th, when his tee shot went into the native area behind a short cactus. He managed to get the ball back onto the fairway on his second shot and eventually saved par Another good save came on the par-4 18th when he drove the ball into the bunker He ended up scrambling for the par, sinking a 19-foot putt as the crowd roared its approval. Now he’s got a sizable lead heading into Sunday “It’s all about how you deal with those emotions,” Detry said. “It’s OK to think about it but then try to come back in the present. I think that will be the key for tomorrow.”

Maverick McNealy — who won his first tour title at the The RSM Classic late last year — shot up the leaderboard with a 63 and had a streak of four straight birdies on holes five through eight. He was sixth at 12 under Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler — the 2022 and 2023 winner — closed with a birdie for a 68. He was eight shots behind Detry LPGA Tour

NOH FINISHES FAST TO LEAD FOUND-

ERS CUP: In Bradenton, Florida, Yealimi Noh birdied eight of the last 11 holes for an 8-under 63 and a one-stroke lead Saturday over three-time champion Jim Young Ko in the Founders Cup. After gusting wind slowed the players on the opening holes at Bradenton Country Club, Noh and Ko each made their first birdie of the day on the par-5 eighth.

“That start was a little slow, but I was hitting it solid, making some good putts,” said Noh, the 23-year-old California player chasing her ﬁrst LPGA Tour victory “I just told myself to be patient and just wait for one to drop and then go on from there, and it did.”

Trying to win the event on a fourth venue, Ko birdied ﬁve of the ﬁnal 11 for a 66.

“We had gusting in the front nine, so it was hard to play,” Ko said.

“After front nine, yeah, we made a lot of birdies, especially Yealimi. We had so much fun. I did my best today Just some putts like was just sneaky so I would say I kept for tomorrow.”

PROVIDED PHOTO

Charter captain Ty Hibbs took numerous photos in the week following the Arctic cold front and record snowfall showing the effects of freezing air temperatures and cold water temperatures. Hibbs was in the Delcroix area when he spied four dead redfish and other smaller fish along a bank dried when strong north winds lowered water levels and trapped fish in cold, shallow water State Wildlife and Fisheries marine biologists and field staff issued a preliminary report late last week on fish kills across Louisiana coastal marshes.

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

After missing last season with an injury, LSU softball

ﬁrst baseman Tori Edwards needed a day to relax and unleash her power Tigers right-handed pitcher Tatum Clopton’s wait was nearly three times as long and just as satisfying. The pair combined to lift LSU to a 10-0 victory against Charlotte and a 6-0 decision against Central Arkansas at the Tiger Classic on Saturday at Tiger Park. Edwards hit three home runs in the two games — including a grand slam for her ﬁrst career dinger in the opener — and finished the day with eight RBIs as LSU improved to 4-0.

“It was awesome. I was a lot more comfortable today, it being Day Two,” Edwards said. “I waited a whole year I got like a little free trial last year, but this year I was happy to be full out in uniform

and on the ﬁeld.

“I was having fun, knowing I’ve been playing this game a long time. Keep it simple and stick to the plan.”

Clopton, a junior transfer right-hander from Oklahoma State, hadn’t pitched since March 8, 2022, but threw four shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk with four strikeouts. Along with Game 2 starter Ashley Vallejo and senior Emilee Casanova, who ﬁnished both games with a combined three innings, LSU has opened the season with four consecutive shutouts for the second year in a row

“It was amazing I was gifted with the perfect day to make my Tiger Park debut super special,” Clopton said. “It was capped off with the support of my teammates and coaches. I knew they were behind me every step of the way and through the entire process

“We stuck with the plan. We had the approach we were

same teams Friday. Vallejo, a transfer from McNeese, allowed two hits and zero walks in ﬁve innings, retiring 11 consecutive batters in one stretch.

Only two runners reached third base in the two games combined, one on an error

“They have looked good. It was nice to get everybody some time today,” Torina said. “Everybody lived up to what they are capable of doing. It was nice to see Ashley Vallejo as a Tiger and really cool to see Tatum Clopton return after a two-year hiatus. She looked really solid.

“We’ll use them all. We just have the ﬁve of them, and I think they will be valuable to this team. There will be spots we need everybody.”

ﬁrst game. Edwards hit a three-run homer in the first inning against Central Arkansas, one of her five hits for the day Coffey came up with another clutch hit, a twoout single for an RBI after a pinch-hit triple by Jadyn Laneaux.

going to throw my best stuff and see what they react to. We stuck with that. We saw Jayden (Heavener) had a lot of success yesterday Jayden and I are very different.”

LSU coach Beth Torina was pleased with her pitching staff, which got a perfect game from Heavener and a two-hit shutout from Sydney Berzon against the

LSU had 15 hits compared to 21 the day before but came up big in the clutch. Danieca Coffey’s bases-loaded double brought home three runs before Edwards’ slam, and Sydney Peterson added a run-scoring single in the

“Tori is special,” Torina said. “She approaches things differently than a lot of people I’ve been around. She’s really good at executing a plan. Add that to her athletic ability, she hits with such power and exit velocity She’s a really special player “We saw some good things out of a lot of people. Good adjustments were made. Maybe we’d like to see more consistency but it was cool to see a lot of adjustments and do things different and better as the game went on.”

LSU gym beats Alabama, sets up 1 vs. 2 battle

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Sports writer

First, the Super Bowl. Next, the super meet. Friday night was a night for settling old scores with an old Southeastern Conference rival, and setting up one of the biggest home meets ever for the LSU gymnastics program against a new SEC foe.

A gritty 197.300-197.075 victory Friday at Alabama by the Tigers, coupled with Florida’s 197.175-196.625 upset loss at Arkansas, made for the ﬁrst No. 1 vs. No. 2 home meet for LSU in four years. The No. 2 Tigers will host No. 1 Oklahoma at 8 p.m. Friday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center The meet will be televised on ESPN2.

It’s the ﬁrst No. 1 vs. No. 2 regular-season meet for LSU (6-2, 3-1 SEC) since Feb. 12 2021, when No. 1 Florida edged out the No. 2 Tigers in the PMAC 198.150-198.050.

While LSU’s season average dipped slightly from 197.420 to 197.400, the Tigers now have the nation’s second-best scoring average after Florida’s mark

1. #3 LSU 197.300 (Vault 49.450, Bars — 49.275, Beam — 49.250, Floor — 49.325) 2. #14 Alabama 197.075 (Vault — 49.175, Bars — 49.275, Beam — 49.125, Floor — 49.500)

Individual (includes first place and all LSU competitors)

All-around 1 Kailin Chio, LSU, 39.650; 2. Lilly Hudson, Alabama, 39.575; 3. Gabby Gladieux,Alabama, 39.425; 4.

dropped from 197.456 to 197.290.

Oklahoma beat Kentucky at home 197.825-197.225 on Friday night. The Sooners (197.746) are now 10-0 and 4-0 in the SEC, including a victory over LSU, California and Utah last month in the Sprouts Collegiate Quad in Oklahoma City That result did not count toward the SEC standings.

LSU’s win at Alabama (14, 0-4), just its seventh in 33 regular-season trips to Tuscaloosa, was a redemptive one for the Tigers after their own Waterloo of a road meet at Arkansas two weeks ago. The Tigers couldn’t overcome multiple mistakes against the Razorbacks, falling 196.825-196.600.

This time, the Tigers had six scores of lower than 9.80 but covered them throughout the meet, dropping all but a 9.775 on ﬂoor by Sierra Ballard (the top ﬁve of each team’s six scores count per event).

“It certainly was an improvement over our last road performance,” LSU coach Jay Clark said “Getting a road win in this conference is not an easy thing

Aleah Finnegan, LSU 39.200. Vault 1 Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.975; T2. Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 9.925; 4 Amari Drayton, LSU, 9.90; T7. KJ Johnson,Aleah Finnegan, LSU 9.825; T9. Chase Brock, LSU, 9.775. Bars T1. Konnor McClain, Ashley Cowan, LSU, Lilly Hudson, Chloe LaCoursiere, Alabama 9.90; 6 Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.85; 7.Aleah Finnegan, LSU, 9.825; T8.Alexis Jeffrey, LSU, 9.80; 12 Lexi Zeiss, LSU, 9.75

to do. It’s the same deal for everyone.”

At the same time, Clark said, the Tigers still have improving to do.

“We’ve been great at home, but we have to be great everywhere,” he said. “We’re not quite there yet.

“They trained well this week, and the way they prepared helped them ﬁght through the things that snowballed on them at Arkansas. That in and of itself is growth But I asked them after the meet if the tables were turned and we’d lost, would you have accepted the performance we had? The answer was an unequivocal no. So, we’ve got to go home, set our jaw and get better.”

LSU’s night was marked by two key additions to the lineup and another stellar showing by Kailin Chio.

The freshman from Henderson, Nevada, showed she could be as good on the road as she has been at home. Chio matched the all-around score she posted Jan. 31 in the PMAC against Missouri at 39.650, a total that included a winning 9.975 on vault and a ﬁrst-place 9.925 on balance beam. She now has nine

Beam 1 Kailin Chio, LSU 9.925; T3.Aleah Finnegan, LSU, 9.875; T5. Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 9.85; 7. Kylie Coen, LSU, 9.825; 9. Konnor McClain, LSU, 9.775; 11. Sierra Ballard LSU 9.55.

Floor 1 Gabby Gladieux, Alabama, 9.975; T2. Kailin Chio,Amari Drayton, LSU, 9.90; T5. Kaliya Lincoln, Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 9.875; 11. Sierra Ballard, LSU, 9.775; 12.Aleah Finnegan, LSU, 9.675. Attendance: 10,474

individual titles this season.

“She’s a killer,” Clark said. “She has an edge. There’s a lot of us still trying to ﬁnd that. She’s a very mature competitor beyond her years.”

Senior Haleigh Bryant and freshman Kaliya Lincoln added to their repertoires, performing on vault and floor, respectively, for the ﬁrst time this season.

Bryant, who suffered an elbow injury on vault in LSU’s December exhibition meet, scored a 9.925 on that event to go with a 9.875 on ﬂoor and a 9.85 on beam. Lincoln, who has been limited to vault because of a pre-college shoulder problem, also had a 9.875 on ﬂoor

“Those were important

things to see happen,” Clark said.

The Tigers built a sizable 148.050-147.575 lead on Alabama going into the final rotation, with the Tigers moving to balance beam and Alabama to floor The Crimson Tide quickly chopped into LSU’s advantage, with LSU at first counting a 9.55 from leadoff gymnast Sierra Ballard, closing to within 187.125-187.025 with two gymnasts to go. Bryant then got her 9.85 on beam, leaving the meet up to senior Aleah Finnegan, who clinched LSU’s NCAA championship this past April anchoring the same event. While Alabama would get a 9.975 from Gabby Gladieux to win the floor title,

Finnegan already had put the meet out of reach with a solid 9.875 on beam. LSU’s Konnor McClain and Ashley Cowan both got 9.90s on bars, ﬁnishing in a fourway tie for ﬁrst place in that event with Bama’s Lilly Hudson and Chloe La Coursiere. Now, the decks are cleared. As the Super Bowl hype fades away, the hype for perhaps the gymnastics season’s biggest regular-season dual meet ramps up.

“Regardless of the rankings,” Clark said, “it’s two of the best teams in the country.”

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate. com/lsunewsletter

ByARTHUR NEAD

Muses krewses into its 25th year

Errol Laborde STREETCAR

According to noted ornithologists, there is only one species of ducks that resembles the rubber variety parodied on a Carnival float. That float, entitled “Mama Duck and Duckies,” is spotted one night a year along St. Charles Avenue. It is a “tandem” (multipart) float consisting of the mother duck followed by three ducklings who are made of molded Styrofoam coated with fiberglass, and miraculously looking very much like the rubber ducks found in everyday bathtubs, only much bigger Especially unusual is that the hatchlings were born not by nature but by a computer programmed robotic arm named “Pixie.” Besides that, all else is normal, oh, except that the waddling family follows a lead tandem float called “Bathing Muses,” which features an oldfashioned float-sized bathtub. From within the tub, krewe members, wearing handsome hats designed to look like bathtub drain plungers, toss rubber ducks toward the waves of outstretched arms below Staci Rosenberg was once an outstretched arms person, standing alone near Napoleon and St. Charles avenues one night during the 2000 Carnival season watching the parade of the then-new (1998) Krewe of Ancient Druids. She was there to cheer a coworker who would be among the masked float riders That’s when an idea took hold. Rosenberg, a real estate attorney who grew up near Pittsburgh and studied law at Tulane. had never ridden in a parade She thought the experience looked like fun. That night she took the thought a step further Some aspirants to Carnival immersion might think about joining a krewe. Instead, she thought about starting her own krewe. Rosenberg decided to do what most anybody overtaken by a similar notion would do: “Call Weezie.” When friend Weezie Porter answered her phone that night, she unknowingly was about to become part of Carnival history Had she not been home, had her line been busy, had she been in a bad mood all else that would follow might not have happened.

Rosenberg told her about the new krewe idea What did she think? Porter, a sales executive at WWL-TV, knows how to gauge the marketplace. She asked some friends who happened to be visiting what they thought about being part of a ﬂedgling parade. The reaction was solid.

Also solid was Rosenberg’s concept: There had been allfemale krewes in Carnival,

How the Superdome in New Orleans was built to become an enduring landmark in Louisiana

STANDING THE TEST OF TIME

BY MOLLY REID CLEAVER

New Orleans Collection

Historic

The

On Aug. 3, 1975, the Louisiana Superdome opened to the public after nine years of development, delays, anticipation and controrsy. Enormous and eye-catching, it stood as the largest indoor arena in the world — see the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records — and signaled the transformation of New Orleans’s economy toward tourism and hospitality Nathaniel “Buster” Curtis Jr., partner in the New Orleans ﬁrm Curtis and Davis, was the Superdome’s lead architect. His papers, held at The Historic New Orleans Collection, tell the story of how it became an irreplaceable part of the New Orleans skyline.

The idea

The Superdome was the brainchild of entrepreneur and sports promoter Dave Dixon. In the 1950s, then-Mayor Chep Morrison had created a Major League

Sports Committee for the purpose of attracting a pro franchise to build tourism and economic activity Baseball was what Morrison had in mind, but Dixon convinced him that pro football was America’s sport of the future. When the Houston Astrodome opened in 1964, it was hailed as the

chief of design, presents completed drawings, totaling 450 sheets of paper and representing the work of about 300 people through 30 months to

on Oct. 30, 1970.

At this N.O. bar, Eagles fans delight in traditions

Markey’s Bar in Bywater was almost 100 Eagles fans deep for the NFC Championship game.

BY JOSEPH CRANNEY Staff writer

a cherryred fixture of the corner of Royal and Louisa streets, where it’s sat since 1947. On a quiet night, when you’re one of just a few regulars

drinking a $3 draft, you might call it a dive bar

Most important to me, however,

view of the construction of the Louisiana Superdome in 1973.The Superdome opened to the public after

PROVIDED PHOTO Horance H. Hayden, right,

Dave Dixon

ILLUSTRATION

DINING SCENE

New Orleans cuisine and dining constantly evolving

When I host people visiting New Orleans, a restaurant tour often ensues. There will be reservations and impromptu quick stops. Memories will be made, diets forgotten.

Ian McNulty WHAT’S COOKING

We will toggle between the everyday accessible and elevated indulgence — maybe rolling up sleeves over crawﬁsh outside at Clesi’s Seafood and later putting on a jacket for the mirror-lined dining room at Clancy’s across town, hoping the season has provided soft shell crabs. These tours don’t come about just to keep my visitors’ bellies full; they are a way to take part in one of the prime appeals of this city, our food and the culture that New Orleans people build around it.

During Super Bowl week, New Orleans is hosting visitors on a different scale than normal, even for this high-proﬁle travel destination, and the attention goes way beyond actual occupancy

The intense media coverage that accompanies the Super Bowl will bring stories from this host city to vicarious visitors and certainly to potential future visitors

Here’s what I want people visiting or watching from afar to know about our city through food

Not just about dishes

New Orleans has a cuisine all our own, which is obvious to locals but not always so to visitors.

Most cities and regions have some specialties, the famous dishes for travelers to hunt down like foodie scavenger hunts. But New Orleans food is not about having a collection of items, it’s about having a cuisine unto itself, in the way other countries have a national cuisine, one that arches above trends and moves through generations.

It starts with a common history, an essential palette of ingredients and shared knowledge of technique. Its richness comes from how that’s expressed in countless

individualistic ways that still relate to the people and place of New Orleans.

A shared identity

People are ﬁred up about food everywhere, and the easy, engaging content it provides on social media has only propelled its currency further Many cities now promote their restaurants as a hook for

visitors

But what makes New Orleans a truly great food city (and more than a city with just a lot of good restaurants) is the interplay of what was created here and endures, and what this bedrock keeps inspiring next.

The key ingredient is the local community people who assign a priority to food in their lives. They are active participants,

analysts, historians and ambassadors, for not just their favorite restaurants but for the idea of New Orleans as a city where food matters That practice and pursuit builds a common language, a shared identity and reinforces a culture.

A mosaic of common threads

One of my restaurant itineraries for guests could include a lunch of gumbo and fried chicken at Li’l Dizzy’s, the Treme lunch spot that continues a generations-old story of Creole cooking from the Baquet family This is New Orleans ﬂavor as it has always been.

The next stop, for dinner could be MaMou, a French Quarter jewel box that shows one direction Creole cuisine can take. Here, chef Tom Branighan has created an upscale showpiece for an inventive interpretation of Creole cuisine with modern French style.

The two restaurants, so disparate on the surface, are located about half a mile apart. But they’re closer than that, because they’re connected by a thread stitched across the cultural landscape of New Orleans.

You can draw the same thread

between the historic Arnaud’s and the modern Palm & Pine three blocks apart in the French Quarter, or the Garden District landmark Commander’s Palace and the pioneering Coquette down the street. They make New Orleans cuisine.

A culinary incubator and magnet

Having a culinary identity and food culture inspires people to make their mark and it also draws people from elsewhere who value such. This is the engine of nextgeneration innovation in our restaurant scene. The way GW Fins presents Gulf seafood is innovative (try the dryaged tuna). The way Dakar NOLA weaves the foodways of Senegal through its chef’s experience in high-end American cuisine is innovative. The idea of Acamaya, a modern Mexican seafood restaurant nestled into the Baywater neighborhood, is innovative (go on a Monday and see all the other local restaurant people dining there on their night off).

The creation of Saffron NOLA as a world-class Indian restaurant built around Creole New Orleans inﬂuence is innovative. The mining of New Orleans’ own foundational role in cocktail culture to come up with the very modern tavern Jewel of the South is innovative.

Evolving, but rooted

What supports all this is a community that is not just out to ﬁnd a good meal, but which respects cuisine and brings unbridled excitement to the pursuit of it. They were raised that way, or (like me) they spent enough time absorbing the culture here that it became second nature.

That common ground is set by the idea of red bean Mondays and fried seafood Fridays at neighborhood joints, by Creole tradition at the old grande dame restaurants and by successive generations that keep bringing the story forward.

After this Super Bowl is in the books, I hope our visitors return home with the sense of that. And maybe we locals will appreciate it a bit more from the opportunity to show it off on such a scale. Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate.com.

Super Parties!

■ A Crepuscular Caper

Seven lovelies went tiptoeing through “The Tuileries at Twilight” for Parisian partying. Under that marquee, they were honored by their parents: Mary Margaret and Craig Brewer for Tess; Mary and Joel Funderburk for Celia; Jill Knight Nalty and Morgan Nalty for Morgan; Charlotte and Gene Parrino for Heyward; Meg and David Sumrall for Sarah; Melanie and Brent Talbot for Lanie; and Tricia and John Zvonek for Caroline. Carla Adams was the party planner Welcoming signage, the courtyard-located and brightly lit

“Bienvenu,” greeted guests, who arrived at Generations Hall for the social stroll through the City of Light’s famous garden. More special outdoor effects depicted the garden’s giant Ferris wheel and the nearby Eiffel Tower Thanks targeted Calfee Productions. Within Generations Hall, where a replica of the invitation appeared in the foyer, Urban Earth created marvelous floral arrangements and hanging flowers under a bistro setting, all of which were complemented by Melanie Talbot’s large, colorful paper flowers. Several were placed at the venue’s entrance, and others, in the band room. Making sartorial statements were the debutantes, who were outfitted in various shades of blue. Their fathers sported matching flower-patterned ties. William and Hutson Sumrall and grandfather William D. Sumrall Jr joined Sarah, as did Adair and Bubba Cunningham,Weese and Frank Winder with Frank IV, Rebecca Delatte with Caroline and Cole, sisters Dot Isacks and Bee Fitzpatrick, Maria and Noel Johnson, Elizabeth and Trey Macdiarmid, Cinny and Andy Anderson, Debi and Peter Dupuy, Meredith and Baldwin Montgomery, Marguerite and Jimmy Kock, and Eileen and Parker Stewart Surnamed Brewer, McAlister Sophie, Dennis and Marilyn partied with Tess. So did Mary Jane McAlister, Carla and Jay Adams, Emily Adams, Henry McDavid, Doug and Vaughn Downing, Courtney and Spencer Murphy Stacy and Jeremy Head, Margaret and Morgan Cross, and Deirdre and Hal Moffett From the Nalty family came grandparents Betsy Nalty Simmons and Dick, sister Layne Nalty with Ian Henderson, Helen and Kim Butcher, and Helen’s twin, Elizabeth Nalty Also, Elly and Merritt Lane, Dana Hansel,Amy and John White Karyn and Bill Kearney, Stacey Williams, and Gary Russo. They and countless others were wowed by the purveyance. Pigeon Catering provided a taste of Paris with steak frites, fondue, paella, macaroons and eclairs. Passed items were mini croque monsieurs, mushroom tartlets, chicken and waffles, and cafe au lait shooters with little beignets. Taking it all “oh, la, la!” in with Caroline Zvonek were brother Jack and grandparents John and Mary Burke, along with Andrew and Sabrina Pilant and Lainie, David and Suzanne Perlis, Brian and Kendra Klebba, Don and Virginia Ellis, Ella Aluise, and McKinley Bassett. Deb sibs Kate and Corbett Parrino hobnobbed with Heyward More were Terri and David Houghton, Kate and John Werner, Claude and Laurie Williams, Helen and Charles LeBourgeois, Gwathmey and Fritz Gomila, Lauren and Bryan Fitzpatrick, and Amy and Stephen Farnsworth. Grandmother Bonnie Talbot added a third generation to the “Twilight” to-do. Further kin and kith of Lanie included Brent Talbot Jr and Maddie Scheibal Mackie Talbot and Kennedy Smith, Mason Drew, Lisa and John Fletcher, Chris and Sarah Talbot, Bobby and Jennifer Talbot, Michael and Linda Miller, and Carro and Billy Gardner. Having fun with the Funderburks were Sweet and Ben Dupuy, Sheldon and Michael Schmidt, Erin and Michael Cook,Ann and Guy Cook, Britta and Everard Marks, Molly and Kristen Baumer, and Holly and John Nieset Hundreds more, pals of all the hosts, partied.

Further features of the bash were the beret-wearing staff, uplighting in different colors per party room, a photo booth, a sequin bar, and, outdoors, the Raphaël Bas duo, who played “New Orleans Gypsy Trad Jazz” with a French twist. Deep inside the capacious venue was the band room and overhanging balcony

The Phunky Monkeys ignited the premises with their music-making — and joyful gyrations. At 9 p.m., with the song “Hey Ya!”, they called to the stage the honored septet, who donned light-up boas and held Champagne ﬂutes. The audience responded in kind with the party favors of colorful boas and illuminated tambourines. From then on, there was no cessation in the musical glee, as the band rocked the revelry with such numbers as “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” And Tess, Celia, Morgan, Heyward, Sarah, Lanie and Caroline certainly did.

■ Reverie

With eyes either closed or opened, “It’s a Dreamscape Wonderland” wowed the party pack. Longtime friends Flora French, Lainie Pilant and Ellie Plauché were honored in surreal style by their parents, Shane and Fenn French, Sabrina and Andrew Pilant, and Lisa Plauché (with Edmund Mahoney) and Evan Plauché (with Tara Bazone). Event coordinator Katie McNulty transformed the Audubon Tea Room into a surreal dreamland via giant statues of elks wearing sunglasses, a decorative nod to the liner of the colorful invitation, and an upside-down step and repeat featuring Chiavari chairs in a whimsical pattern. Cocktails, such as winter Aperol Spritzes, Mexican Mules, and Palomas, were served from a custom-built central bar with a ﬂoral trellis. The dream-inspired décor continued in a fully tented lounge area with hot pink chandeliers, themed seating, sequined tablecloths, and dazzling lighting. All about were pink neon lips, unique ﬂoral arrangements, and candles. A photo area, with a silvery background, provided souvenir snapshots, and roaming artists applied glitter makeup.

Flora’s grandparents Ron and Flora Fenner French ﬁgured in the fun along with Jay and Kristi French, Hardie and Laura French, Matt and Brandi French, Will French and Tricia Sarpy, Jay and Andree Batt,Anne and Edmund Redd,Ashley Nelson, Dana Hansel, Deirdre and Christian Hooper, Philip and Jane Scott Hodges, Quinn Peeper and Michael Harold, Dorothy Clyne, Stacy and Jeremy Head, Becky and Scott Slatten, Jennifer and Rob Rosen, and Heidi and John Bell Lainie’s guests included deb sisters Emmy (with Rajan Agrawal) and Eliza Pilant, Megan and Jay Forman,Ally and David Kirk, Genie and Edward McCloskey,Anne and Jody Guillot, Jenny Williamson, Courtney and Michael Singer Jenny and Jeff Stolier Mary and Joel Funderburk, Nancy and Michael Walshe, Elizabeth and Keith Crawford, and Carol McCall. Ellie’s twin brother, Evan Plauché, made the dream scene, as did grandmother Margie Breeden with Bill Coe, Scott Plauche, Chuck and Susan Ives, Michael and Jessica Breeden, and Geoff and Amanda Jenny with Grant, Brook and Greyson A few of the above came in from away and dozens more from the deb set frolicked.

Early on, they were entertained by a Spanish classical guitarist, whose presence was a nod to the many Spanish surreal artists, such as Salvador Dalí, Juan Miró, Luis Buñuel, and Pablo Picasso. Shades now they were unable to be present.

For the non-shades, cuisine was a highlight. Dickie Brennan’s Catering included crabcakes, oyster shooters, tuna poke on wontons, a taco bar, and pasta and carving stations. Fluff Cotton Candy added sweet whimsy Topped with edible glitter, the three signature ﬂavors were selected by each honoree.

Shades of blue and green were chosen for the debutantes’ dresses that had as designers Alice and Olivia for Flora, Suzanne Perron St. Paul for Lainie, and Staud for Ellie. As the night continued, guests received lighted headpieces featuring butterflies and flowers, as well as flamingo hats from NOLA Throws, both inspired by the invitation’s design. To energize the party pack, late night treats of sliders, truffle fries and beignets filled the “Dreamscape” bill.

Filling the musical one was the band, the Mixed Nuts, who kept the guests dancing with a gamut that ran from the current top 10 hits to pop classics, including “Signed, Sealed & Delivered.” It was recorded by Stevie Wonder and thanks to the title’s wording that could suggest a party promise – helped make “Dreamscape Wonderland” a reality for Flora, Lainie and Ellie.

PHOTOS By JEFF STROUT

Caroline Zvonek, Tess Brewer, Sarah Sumrall, Morgan Nalty, Heyward Parrino, Celia Funderburk, Lanie Talbot

Mary and Joel Funderburk

Charlotte and Gene Parrino, Jill and Layne Nalty

Craig and Mary Margaret Brewer

Brent and Melanie Talbot, Tricia and John Zvonek

David and Meg Sumrall

Margie Breeden, Flora Fenner French

Evan Plauche, Eliza Pilant, Emmy Pilant, John French Jr.

STAFF PHOTOS By DANIEL ERATH

Shane, Flora and Fenn French

Andrew, Lainie and Sabrina Pilant

Evan, Eleanor and Lisa Plauche

HOLLYWOOD SOUTH

‘Sinners’ marks 89th role for New Orleans actress

Deneen Tyler keeps acting run going

When the ﬁlm “Sinners” debuts in theaters in April, it will mark the 89th role for Hollywood South actress Deneen Tyler

A graduate of McDonogh 35 High School, she’s been at her craft for over 30 years She was acting in New Orleans before tax credits existed and before there was anything called Hollywood South.

Leslie Cardé

“Back in the day,

I’d been doing theater, even doing August Wilson’s ‘Fences’ at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans, before (now deceased) New Orleans talent agent Claudia Speicher saw me in a commercial audition and agreed to represent me,” Tyler said.

“When the tax incentives eventually came about in 2002, suddenly everyone was coming here to audition for all the movies being shot here. Fortunately, I was already in position. I was in the middle of the street when the tsunami came.”

Many roles

It’s been quite a run for Tyler since her ﬁrst on-screen role in the TV series, “The Big Easy.”

She’s been in fan-favorite movies like “Now You See It” and Academy Award-nominated productions like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” where she and her young daughter played the

ByTheAssociated 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 to a crowd of screaming teenagers in person and more than 70

same character, many years apart

Daughter Devyn Tyler is an actor in her own right, starring recently in both the FX series “Snowfall” and the CBS series, “Clarice.”

Deneen played an enslaved woman in “12 Years A Slave,” while Devyn played the daughter of main character Solomon Northrup, portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor

Artistry runs in this family

Prominently displayed in Deneen’s lakefront area home are paintings done by her talented grandfather, Frank Wyley

Her brother is Iam Bennu, the extraordinary artist responsible for so many Zulu posters, most notably “Soulful Warriors” and “The Witch Doctor.”

During the pandemic, the actress herself got into painting decorative ﬂeurs de lis, peace symbols

million viewers 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,

and Mardi Gras masks, which line the walls of the art studio in her home.

An actor’s craft As an actor, Tyler treasures her privacy, never setting out to be famous. It’s the craft she loves, along with her ability to play different characters, never being stereotyped.

She’s been a spy in “True Lies,” a captain in “Black and Blue,” a detective in “Ambition,” a military ofﬁcial in “Fantastic Four” and the homeless woman, Dot, in “Dark Meridian.”

In “Sinners,” a horror ﬁlm set in the Jim Crow 1930s, Tyler plays a partygoer The movie, directed by Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) and starring Michael B. Jordan, tells the story of twin brothers who return to their hometown to discover unsettling surprises.

IN HISTORY

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

Tyler’s biggest roles have sometimes come to her unexpectedly She was running a table read (where actors sit at a table and rehearse) for “Filthy Rich” with Kim Cattrall but wasn’t actually part of the cast at that point. The next thing she knew the producers had created a role for her, which turned into seven separate episodes on the hit series.

She’s been fortunate to do commercials as well, working for clients like Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pﬁzer, Hibernia Bank and Chamberlain University, for which she did a whole series of ads.

She’s created a niche for herself in the world of voice-overs and now has a top voice-over agent in Los Angeles.

Film work a roller coaster

As anyone in the business who lives in and works out of New Orleans knows, it’s been a rollercoaster ride with fewer and fewer productions for which to audition.

The pandemic saw productions cut, and labor strikes caused many productions to shoot in Canada and Europe.

And tax incentives, once the sole domain of Louisiana, are now available in some form in 38 other states.

Additionally, until Louisiana recently ironed out its problems with the state Legislature, it was unclear how or if Louisiana would still be participating in the program.

Although it has now been worked out, the entire scenario created a sense of uneasiness in the industry, for workers in front

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 Rang-

of and behind the camera.

“For people who don’t have a lot of credits under their belt, there really are not a lot of auditions here in the city,” Tyler said. “I realized at some point that I needed an agent outside of this market. I now have a New York agent, so I’m auditioning all over I was ﬂown to Montana last year to work on “Yellowstone,” which was wonderful.” A balanced life is the best life

Tyler has never been a one-trick pony, and now she has diversiﬁed beyond acting and voice work into writing, with a few projects underway

But she will be the ﬁrst to tell you that Kevin, her husband of 36 years, is the stable one in the family, working for a doctor’s group at Tulane.

That has allowed her to do what she loves, including taking her daughter to school as a young girl and having an ordinary life with a lot less stress than many in the entertainment industry

“I don’t get crazy about the ﬁlm landscape with its ups and downs,” Tyler said. “If you’ve been in the business long enough, hopefully people remember you were wonderful to work with, and will send you a script.

“But, ﬁrst and foremost, actors must be mentally OK, and take care of themselves,” she said. “It’s important to sustain a healthy life and career.”

“Sinners” will be released in theaters April 18.

Email Leslie Cardé at lesliecardejournalist@gmail.com

ers for three years.

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

ASingersongwriter Carole King

83.

Nobel

Author

Joe Pesci is

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN MCCUSKER

Local actor Deneen Tyler has a role in the new horror film ‘Sinners.’

birthdays:

Actor

82.

Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is 82.

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.

TRAVEL

Fly nonstop from New Orleans to these cities overseas

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

Rolling into the second month of the year and New Orleans 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 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

By Christopher Elliott

My husband and I checked into a rental home in Branson, Missouri, that we booked through Booking.com, for our seventh anniversary. It was a complete nightmare! The whole place smelled of dog odor, there was dog poop in the unit and

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 per week during peak months.

San Pedro Sula, 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 breaks 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.

ent place in the area to stay I’ve been going back and forth with Booking.com and Vacasa, the company through which it was rented, for the last three days, and they refuse to refund our stay.A local manager of the Vacasa rental unit claims there’s nothing wrong with the property because they sent someone to clean up the mess. I disagree. I took photos and video of the place 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

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

property reserved had a review score of 5.7 out of 10, which is low — 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.

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 standardsetting 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

an editor friend in Boston emailed me to see how those of us in Louisiana were dealing with the snow I mentioned that for all major events in my part of the 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 IRByAUCOIN

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.

Can northeast Louisiana be considered a vampire haven?

Exploring the story of a town called Transylvania in East Carroll Parish

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

I became conscious of the fact that the driver was in the act of pulling up the horses in the courtyard of a vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray of light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlit sky

That’s the scene Jonathan Harker recorded in his journal when his horse-drawn coach ﬁnally came to a stop in Transylvania in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, “Dracula.”

In all honesty most curious travelers don’t expect to see a vampire’s dilapidated Gothic home when driving through northeast Louisiana’s version of Transylvania. But then, there’s always the thrill off a hope. No castles here

What they will get is lots of ﬂat, Louisiana delta land and a smattering of structures, but there is no Dracula’s castle among them However, that doesn’t mean the Dracula spirit is absent in this unincorporated community. Travelers driving north on U.S 65 are greeted by a bat looming at the center of its water tower some 165 feet above the highway — all of which leads to Baker Boyd’s question about the origins of Transylvania’s name. The Baker resident said he’s familiar with the community 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.

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 trans-

lation 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

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

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,

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.

Email Robin Miller at romiller@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By INFROGMATION

The Transylvania Post Office stands next to a sign that once advertised bat and Dracula T-shirts at the now-closed Transylvania General Store in the East Carroll Parish community of Transylvania. The post office once offered postal stamps featuring a bat.

PROVIDED PHOTO By DAVID JONES

SUPERDOME

“eighth wonder of the world.” Dixon and others took notice Here was a way to introduce New Orleans as a sports destination: by building an even bigger domed stadium. Dixon took his idea to the newly elected Gov John McKeithen.

“I pitched him the idea that this would be a chance for Louisiana to pass Houston,” Dixon said, speaking to scholar Matthew B. Hinton in 2008. “He bought it immediately He said, ‘My God, Mr Dixon! That would be the greatest building in the history of mankind, and we’ll build that sucker.’”

A page from a magazine shows a man in a business suit standing in front of downtown New Orleans

The header text reads, “What the Superdome means to me!”

On Nov 8, 1966, the project officially began via constitutional amendment, when voters overwhelmingly approved the creation of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District. Dixon was appointed its executive director The amendment allocated funding for the stadium through a 4% tax on hotel and motel rooms, and early estimates placed the project’s budget at $35 million. That number would multiply more than fourfold over the next nine years, resulting in public outcry a state intervention and a ﬁnal price tag of $163 million. But it was all worth it, boosters maintained. The LSED declared it “the most important project of the century for Louisiana.”

The city By the time construction began in mid-1971, New Orleans was in the middle of a transformation that would reshape the city for decades to come. The dominance of the port as an economic anchor had been waning for years. Containerization, introduced in the mid-1950s, was quickly becoming the new norm, but the City That Care Forgot was slow to catch up.

The Port of New Orleans debuted its ﬁrst container terminal in 1973, but the new technology required fewer workers. The age of longshoremen was out, and the city needed new jobs. The manufacturing sector was in decline, not only in New Orleans but across the country.

“City and state leaders chose to pursue a service-based industry, i.e. tourism, to ﬁll this void,” Higgins writes in “A House Divided:

MUSES

Continued from page 1D

including the defunct Venus parade and the increasingly energetic Krewe of Iris, but never one that marched on a weeknight and started when women had become so much a part of the professional workforce. The talent pool was deep. Their skills were quickly evident in selecting a name for the new krewe. It would be called “Muses” with reference to the highbrow Greek mythological goddesses of literature, science and the arts, who were also the inspiration for nine streets in Central City (i.e., Calliope, Clio, Melpomene and their siblings). Their names also appear on the neighborhood street tiles that would inspire the krewe’s logo. On Feb. 22, 2001, the premiere Muses parade revealed itself to the world. Carrying 600 riders and with names on a waiting list, the krewe would prove to be an artistic success and a marketing masterpiece. Its theme would be satirical; yet its intent would be compassionate To be kind to animals, apples would be offered to the parade horses; to encourage the muse in kids there was mask-making competition. (The group also committed to supporting charities, especially those involved with women, children and the arts.) Then there was the parade. The Blaine Kern studio ﬂoats were good but the real highlight was what was between them. Muses inspired a new era of street level sub-krewes as participants: women’s dancing groups. Now there have been frolicking females before but these were different. The costumes were clever; the dance steps could be innovative; and interesting names

The center crown block of the Louisiana Superdome is under construction Nov. 20, 1974, with ribs of steel extending from the center The 72,000-seat facility was scheduled for completion in 1974 at a cost of $129.5 million.

The Evolution of the Louisiana Superdome from a Divisive Concept into a Symbol of New Orleans and the Surrounding Areas.” “The Superdome was the prime symbol of the movement towards a servicebased industry.”

During the 1940s and ’50s, preservationists worked to enshrine New Orleans’s historic architecture and traditional jazz music, with great success. The city’s distinctive culture, ripe for harvesting and repackaging to a global audience, would soon become the engine for the new “cultural economy. While the architectural preservation movement focused largely on the French Quarter, city ofﬁcials of the mid-’60s were eager to bring the rest of the central downtown area into the 20th century

The city was largely without tall structures, save for the Hennen Building (built in 1895) and the Hibernia Bank Building (1921). While the Superdome wound its way toward completion skyscrapers ﬂowered nearby: The International Trade Mart (now known as the World Trade Center), was erected 1964-67 and was soon joined by the Plaza Tower and the Hyatt Regency The Dome would rival them all.

The architect Nathaniel Curtis Jr (1917-1997), known to friends and colleagues as Buster, was born into the world of design. His father, Nathaniel Curtis Sr (1881-1951), cofounded the Tulane School of Architecture and later worked at the ﬁrm Goldstein, Parham, and Labouisse.

Curtis the younger graduated from Tulane in 1940, with change

would evolve including Bearded Oysters; NOLA Cherry Bombs; Krewe of Uranus; Pussyfooters and Camel Toe Steppers (Some suspect double-entendre humor in the names, but you will have to judge for yourself.)

That creativity includes innovative throws: In front of me is a package of napkins caught from last year’s parade. An illustration shows two Victorian ladies having tea. One is holding Muses’ variation of Zulu’s highly coveted decorated coconut — a stylishly designed high heel shoe. The caption quotes one woman holding a Muses shoe and telling the other, “This right here will gliterally change the world.”

A 17-feet-high sparkling cyber-optics version of the shoe is now the centerpiece of one of Muse’s signature ﬂoats. Rosenberg says it is “the most expensive shoe in town.”

Parading on the Thursday night before Mardi Gras, Muses is preceded by two classic krewes; Chaos a witty old-line satirical parade descended from the early Knights of Momus, and Babylon; founded in 1939. Its style is traditional and embellished by recently having been upgraded in design quality

Muses has attracted a whole new crowd to the St Charles parade route including, no doubt, girls who, like Staci Rosenberg, might think about one day starting their own krewe. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, and having more than 1,400 members, Muses is a major inﬂuence of the contemporary Carnival. Is the napkin’s prophecy that the krewe will change the world correct?

Just ask Weezie.

Errol Laborde is a producer and panelist on public television’s “Informed Sources.”

in the air “Preparations for World War II were being felt,” he writes in “Dear Children,” a self-published memoir he produced for his family He joined the Navy Reserve under its commissioned ofﬁcer training program, populated by “a relatively small, elite, closely knit group of well-educated and dedicated men.”

After his service, he completed a master’s program in architecture at Harvard University under the GI Bill. The next year, in 1947, he started his own ﬁrm with fellow Tulane grad Arthur Q. Davis. It was a partnership that would last over 30 years.

Curtis and Davis were adherents of modernism, and they quickly made their mark by adapting the clean lines and geometric shapes of the Bauhaus to suit New Orleans’s hot climate, incorporating time-tested vernacular features such as cross-ventilation, galleries and courtyards.

The firm designed roughly 400 structures in New Orleans and around the world, including the Automotive Life Insurance Building (which stands today as the Mid-City branch of New Orleans Public Library), the James V. Forrestal Building in Washington, D.C., countless residences and the ain’t-dere-nomore Rivergate Convention Center McKeithen named Curtis project director for the design of the new domed stadium soon after the creation of the LSED, and Curtis led a team of architects and engineers that would bring the Dome to life. The dome

The Superdome’s curved, clear-

FANS

Continued from page 1D

one I’ve obsessed over since growing up in the Philly suburbs.

I remember Sundays as a kid in Pennsylvania as two things.

1. Someone shallow-pan frying pork chops or chicken in the kitchen.

2. Watching the game with my mom, the biggest Eagles fan I know

My grandmom, who stayed above our living room, used to say that she could track the score by how loud the cheers were that vibrated her ﬂoors.

Cut to Markey’s on that Sunday afternoon when the Eagles clinched a spot in the Super Bowl, a little more than three years after I moved to New Orleans in 2021.

The modest bar was almost 100 Eagles fans deep, a Pennsylvania-lager toting, long-roll-sandwich wielding, throwback-jersey-clad mix of young and old; a buzz of Philly accents and a wave of green and white that spilled into the street, like a family of strangers formed 1,200 miles from their roots. Like home.

A winning team

With wall-to-wall TVs, Markey’s has been one of New Orleans’s most reliable sports bars for decades.

Though LSU football and the Saints take priority on Saturdays and Sundays, the bar’s 16 flatscreens have opened the door for contingents of outsiders, said Roy Markey Jr

For a while, it was a Boston Red Sox bar In the 2000s, it was a New England Patriots bar

“These things come in cycles,” said Markey Jr., who took over the bar from his dad in 1992.

Meanwhile, the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018 and have made deep playoff runs two of the last three years. A group at Markey’s that started with a few

span roof, was and remains a feat of structural engineering. Measuring 680 feet in diameter and comprising 9.7 acres of surface area, the Dome’s dome is made possible by its steel substructure. A “crown block” at the top serves as the center of a radial matrix of circular “ribs” and crossbeams. Supporting the weight of this structure is the all-important tension ring, made of 24 prefabricated steel sections that were welded together in place. Roof Structures Inc. was the principal subcontractor in its design, and for construction, Curtis and the LSED entrusted the job to the American Bridge Division of US Steel Corp. Curtis explained the signiﬁcance of the Dome’s tension ring in a 1976 publication, The Louisiana Superdome: “This ring, capable of withstanding the massive thrusts of the dome structure, is made of 1½-inch-thick steel and prefabricated in 24 sections that were welded together 169 feet in the air Because the strength of the welds is critical to the strength of the tension ring, they were performed by a specially trained and qualiﬁed welder in the semicontrolled atmosphere of a tent house, which was moved around the rim of the building from one weld to another Each individual weld was X-rayed to ensure the perfection of the vital joints. On June 12, 1973, the entire roof, weighing 5,000 tons, was jacked down onto the tension ring in one of the most delicate and critical operations of the whole construction process.”

The attention to detail in the dome’s design and construction has paid off over the years: The winds of Hurricane Katrina only ripped off part of the roof’s cladding, and the structure held up under the weight of 8 to 10 inches of snow during the unprecedented winter storm of 2025. (A quick calculation yields a conservative estimate of 10,400 cubic yards of snow on the roof, weighing approximately 2,800 tons.)

The opening The LSED faced opposition early and often as costs ballooned. By 1969, contractors had yet to break ground, but the budget had reached a projected $93.5 million. When McKeithen promised additional state funds to ﬁnance the shortfall from the hotel-motel tax, an outcry ensued. Three state legislators, led by John G. Schwegmann, of the Schwegmann Brothers grocery store chain, took the LSED to civil court over the mat-

ter The case made its way to the Louisiana Supreme Court, with a narrow majority ruling in favor of the LSED in 1969.

Once construction began, though, the train left the station, and there was no stopping it. The LSED circulated newsletters showing the project’s progress and tantalizing readers with bells and whistles, from the “Giant Screen Television” rig suspended above the ﬁeld to the gargantuan air conditioning system. The building had a capacity of 80,000 to 75,187 seats, plus standing room.

Finally, on Aug. 3, 1975, the Superdome opened to much ballyhoo, with the Saints’ ﬁrst home Dome game three days later (They lost, to the Houston Oilers.) The LSED continued to attract controversy: The stadium’s operating expenses greatly outweighed revenue, and it lost millions of dollars in its ﬁrst few years.

Moreover, the Dome was a testing ground for a newly desegregated populace. As Hinton discusses in his thesis, there were reports of “rude and inefﬁcient” service workers. “A ‘spit guard’ was installed between the mid-level and lower-level seats in response to complaints from patrons that they were being spat on by youths in upper-level seating sections,” he writes.

Despite all this, there was the building itself, elegant and undeniable. According to a New Orleans magazine feature the world-renowned modernist sculptor Isamu Noguchi visited the city to see the Dome for himself. He declared, “It is the greatest piece of sculpture I have ever seen After this, we sculptors can quit.”

Ultimately, the dual juggernauts of the NFL and tourism assured the Superdome’s place in history and in the hearts of New Orleanians. Today, the Superdome and the Saints form one of the city’s biggest pieces of common ground across race and class. Super Bowl LIX will be the Dome’s eighth time hosting pro football’s biggest game, more than any other stadium. As Curtis wrote in 1975, “The Louisiana Superdome, which had begun as an awe-inspiring dream, had become an even more aweinspiring reality.”

This story is from a post on The Historic New Orleans Collection’s First Draft blog. Visit hnoc.org/ﬁrstdraft to read more. Thanks to HNOC Manuscripts Cataloger Michael M. Redmann for his assistance with the research for this article.

Turns out Sheard was a founding member of the Markey’s crew It was important to him that the group showed New Orleans a side of Eagles fans different from their national reputation — largely earned — for being notoriously hot-tempered.

We’re loud, yes. But that’s only because for so many of us, our traditions are deeprooted. We’ve been like this since we were kids, watching with our dads or our moms. “It’s grown so much it’s become like a family,” Sheard said.

When I asked Markey’s bartender Ivana Louvar, who works Sundays, what she thought of us, I half expected her to roll her eyes.

“You guys are actually pretty easy,” Louvar, 44, said. “You’re a lovely bunch.” Eagles fans, lovely You read that right.

neighborhood diehards began to grow

“Winning’s fun,” Markey Jr said.

Jerry Miles, a 64-year-old Saints fan and Markey’s regular, said the Eagles encroachment has been a slow march. As long as the group keeps the celebration to themselves, it’s a welcome one, he said.

“There’s nobody screaming in your face or anything,” Miles said. “That’s what I appreciate.”

At the core of the group is Mike Moyer from Marigny, a transplant of New Hope, Pennsylvania. He rises early on Sundays to buy fresh rolls to make trays of cheesesteaks or hoagies that he brings to the bar Both are the best I’ve had in New Orleans.

And there’s Andy Bower from the 8th Ward, who grew up near Scranton, Pennsylvania. A regular, he and his family showed up at Markey’s one Sunday in October wearing matching midnight green shirts “I’m getting married,” Bower’s shirt read, hours before the ceremony that day “But

ﬁrst the Eagles game!”

“If that’s not love,” Bower said, “I don’t know what is.” Markey Jr said he expects an overﬂow crowd of Eagles fans on the day of the Super Bowl. He plans to block off part of the street, move two televisions outside and set up portable toilets. “We’re gonna get hit pretty hard,” he said.

Any gripes that his bar’s most recent takeover involves the Eagles, an occasional rival of the Saints? Is Markey’s truly now an Eagles Bar?

Markey Jr laughed and said, “Well, it will always be Markey’s Bar.”

The family

I ﬁrst sat at Markey’s for an Eagles game on a Monday night three years ago, unaware that I had just moved into an apartment ﬁve doors down from what was becoming my team’s New Orleans meeting place. Chris Sheard, a 42-year-old teacher from Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood, spotted my Brandon Graham jersey “Go birds,” he said.

Alison Szypula, who was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and her husband Andrew, from South Jersey, make the 25-minute drive to Markey’s from their home in Metairie every week.

“I love New Orleans very much and consider it my home now, but there’s just something about that hometown camaraderie we have that will always feel really special,” said Szypula, who usually wears an Eagles bejeweled captain’s hat to Markey’s, which she made herself.

When the Eagles won Jan. 26, Szypula stood in the Markey’s crowd that roared and roared. Strangers hugged strangers. A full bar sang the 30-second Eagles fight song. Then we did it again And again.

“We’re going to the Super Bowl!” I yelled, wrapping my arms around Moyer I called my dad. I called my mom, who was watching from my childhood home.

“I WISH I WAS AT MARKEY’S WITH YOU!!!” she texted me during the game. You were, mom. That’s the whole point.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

PROVIDED PHOTO

Joseph Cranney, right, a Times-Picayune reporter and Philadelphia Eagles fan, takes in a game at Markey’s Bar with his mother, Donna Cranney, middle, and girlfriend Scarlett Howard.

Excalibur celebrates ‘A Knight on the Runway’ at ball

“A Knight on the Runway” was the theme Saturday when the Krewe of Excalibur gathered at the Pontchartrain Convention and Civic Center for the 23rd annual bal masque

Reigning as Queen Excalibur XXIII was Ms Chanté Mary Amos, daughter of the late Mr Stanley Stewart Amos and the late Mrs. Cheryl Spann Amos. King Excalibur XXIII was Mr Mark David BellProut, son of the late Rev and Mrs. Emanuel L. Prout.

The queen’s dress was white lace over white peau de soie imported from India in pattern created speciﬁcally for her gown. It was adorned with royal blue and crystal stones and rhinestones. Her crown was a replica of the Imperial State Crown of Britain worn by the late Queen Elizabeth II as well as her scepter and orb.

The king wore a militarystyled tunic in white peau de soie accented in silver, trimmed with Austrian rhinestones and silver appliqués. His crown was a medieval full crown with ﬂeur de lis accents.

Their collars, featuring a replica of the Grand Staircase at Buckingham Palace, were heavily encrusted with Austrian silver rhinestone appliqués, crystal and royal blue stones and white ostrich feathers. The 12foot mantles featured the crest of the krewe trimmed in stones and sequins Maids, in costumes de-

picting various countries, were Mmes. Aimée Randolph Burslem, daughter of Mr. John Ashworth Burslem and Mrs. Memise Danielson Burslem, Morocco; Robyn Linnea Mitchell, daughter of Mr Roy Anthony Mitchell and Mrs. Diana Marie Sorapuru, Indonesia; Monica Paul, daughter of Mrs. Patricia Ann Angeletta-Paul, Japan; Amanda Lauryn Prout, daughter of Mr. Noel Lawrence Prout and Mrs. Lekecia Chantelle Magee, Italy; Cheryl Norine Washington, daughter of the late Mr Philip Rudoph White and the late Mrs Florence Joan Washington, Spain; Tiffany Young Robinson, Australia; Tenika B. Simmons, daughter of Mrs. Jacqueline Simmons and

the late Mr Rayford Simmons, Egypt; and Lyisha Catryl Allen, daughter of Mr Walter Allen and Mrs. Leah Marie Lonzo, Greece.

Dukes were Messrs. Charles J Medley, Morocco; Christopher Moliere, Japan; Derrick Dwayne Morris, Indonesia; James Christopher Simmons Jr., Greece; Terrence Michael Hayes, Italy; Stephen M Stanley, Egypt; Kory Antoine Mundy Sr., Spain; and Maurice Lamar Lightfoot, Australia.

The Princesses of Avalon were Misses Krystian Cheryl Henderson, daughter of Mr Jeremy Christian Cohea and Mrs. Myiesha Elizabeth Henderson; Charlie Elizabeth Jones, daughter of Mr and Mrs. D’Von C. Jones; Micaela Jolie Quintona, daughter of Mr Cris Quintona and Mrs. Kippy D. Anthony; Kaitlyn Chapman, daughter of Ms. Kelsey Marie Meyers and

Mr Christopher Enoch Chapman Sr.; and Jamie Lucille Cummings, daughter of Mr and Mrs. James Cade Cummings. Debutantes this year were Misses Kamryn A’Maya Lee, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Karl Armand Lee; Beverly-Anne ZadieMae Bell, daughter of Mr Gerard Anthony Bell and Ms. Elease Marie Colzie; and Caroline Marguerite Cummings, daughter of Mr James Cade Cummings. Squires were Masters Christopher E. Chapman Jr., son of Mr Chapman Sr and Ms. Kelsey Marie Meyers; and Kenneth Michael Collins, son of Mr and Mrs. Charles Alan Collins; and Timothee Iker Castellanos Reyes, son of Mr Pablo Castellanos Reyes and Ms. Angelica Ivette Becerril Delgado.

Page to the king was Master Paul George Castellanos Reyes son of Mr Pablo

Castellanos Reyes and Ms. Angelica Ivette Becerril Delgado. Portraying the role of Lady of the Grail was Mrs. Erica Michelle Collins, wife of Mr Charles Alan Collins; Merlin the Magician, personiﬁed by Sidney Joseph Isom IV, son of Mr and Mrs. Isom III; and Morganna, portrayed by Ms. Elease Marie Colzie, daughter of Mr Louis Colzie Jr and Mrs. Rose M. Hall.

The captain and cocaptain depicted Mexico in matching collars symbolic of the country’s combination of indigenous and Spanish customs and fashion. Included were a variety of blue, green, orange and animal prints with an array of blue coque feathers. Their outﬁts were decorated in silver and gold rhinestone appliqués and trimmings.

General chairman was Mr Pendleton W. Larsen Jr., vice general chairman was Dr. Timothy Melancon; honorary vice general chairman was Mr Mark H. Hildreth and aide to the captain was retired Lt. Col. Robert A. Brown. Committeemen were Messrs. Larry

Byers, Ray Carreras, Philip Fricano, Michael Haydel, Sidney Isom III, Merlin Renard, Jacob Saladino, C.J. Tessitore, David Vigo, Kenny Beck, Jack Rizzuto and Michael Yenni.

Chanté Mary Amos, queen of Excalibur 2025

Nereus returns to 1900 ‘era’ for Mardi Gras merriment

For his 130th bal masque

Nereus returned to Carnival of 1900 to tour the new “eras” and commemorate the 125th anniversary of the world’s first electric procession — “The Grand Electrical Display.” This was also the inaugural pageant of the 20th century and the first time the krewe hosted a parade. The Knights of Nereus found New Orleans “ready for it,” so they created a series of nearly 22 “gorgeous” tableaux depicting the Christian Era, mounted on trolley chassis and lit by electricity from streetcar lines. The parade was described as a luminous “love story” with its beloved city, as businesses and clubs along the route illuminated their “dazzling fiery fronts” according to The TimesPicayune of the day Even though there were delays as cars became separated by three and four blocks, there was no “bad blood” for “the mood of the crowd on Canal Street was festive and goodhumoured.” Yet, it was to be the last Nereus parade. Nereus and his funmakers chose to “shake it off” and continue electrifying guests

Amid the sweeping Saharan sand, set within an ancient land, arose the god Osiris’ tent celebrating the 110th Grand Ball The lights were raised to reveal the throne of the Palace of the Sun overlooking the sands of Egypt Abundant palms, ferns and ﬂowers entwined with a myriad glittering lights provided a lush oasis setting for the coronation of a new king and queen. Reigning with his majesty as queen was Miss Melanie Kathleen Talbot, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Brent Arnold Talbot Sr Maids in the court were Misses Riley Mains Brennan, daughter of Mr Jeffrey Curtis Brennan and Ms. Ariane Chrestia Brennan; Elizabeth Gale Brooks, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Philip Schoen Brooks Jr.; Adelaide Bouligny Gaines, daughter of Mr and Mrs. David Michael Gaines; Rachel Keirsey Lavis, daughter of Mr Charles Edward Lavis Jr.; Mary-Reynolds Jill LeBlanc, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Ryan Reynolds LeBlanc; Fiona Hanna Marks, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Everard William Marks III; and Victoria Livaudais Nieset, daughter of Mr and Mrs James Robert Nieset Jr Also serving in her majesty’s court were Misses Charlotte Heyward Parrino, daughter of Dr and Mrs. Patrick Eugene Parrino; Abigail Caroline Perez, daughter of Mr and Mrs William Christian Perez; Lauren Michelle Perlis, daughter of Mr and Mrs David Wicker Perlis; Julia McLain Pilant, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Andrew Denny Austin Pilant; Grayson Elizabeth Scott, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Stephen Lee Scott; Susan Ryan Swanson, daughter of Mr Alaster Drew Swanson; and Patricia Diane Taylor, daughter of Mr and Mrs. John Frank Taylor, III. Princesses in the court were Misses Lillian Claire Charpentier, daughter of Mr and Mrs. John J. Charpentier; Emma Kay Conner, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Carlin Conner; Celeste Claire Eustis, daughter of Mr and Mrs Curtis Douglas Eustis; Miss MaryCatherine Lee Flower, daughter and stepdaughter of Mr and Mrs. Kenneth P Flower and stepdaughter and daughter of Mr and Mrs. William Harper Johnson; Lyla Dayton Gordon, daughter of Dr and Mrs. John M. Gordon; Adelaide Grace Laurent, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Robert G. Laurent Jr.; Eliza Eugenie Pilant, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Pilant; Maimie Lee Rivera, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Thomas Matthew Beh; Anna Florence Roth, daughter of Dr and Mrs. Chris-

Elizabeth Hales,

with their joyful tableaux and elaborate “bejeweled” presentations at their glorious balls each year Highlighting this year’s grand bal masque as queen was Miss Madison Elizabeth Hales, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Stephen Benjamin Hales and granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs Glenn Gill Goodier. Royal page Master John Thomas Waldrup, son of Mr and Mrs. Chad Michael Waldrup, trumpeted the arrival of the queen at the royal tent at New Orleans Country Club. She was presented by her father and followed by her grandfather, court committee chairman.

Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra provided music for the royal presentation.

Maids in the court were Misses Marguerite Lisette Breaux, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Ralph Gerard Breaux; Riley Mains Brennan, daughter of Mr Jeffrey Curtis Brennan and Ms. Arianne Chresta Brennan; Carolyn Grace Burton, daughter of Mrs. Alan Frank Burton and the late Mr Burton; Charlotte Anne Galloway, daughter of Mr and Mrs. William Rudolph Galloway; Colleen Rose Kehoe, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Gerard Roth Kehoe II; Emily Elizabeth LeBlanc, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Clifton David LeBlanc; and Fiona Hanna Marks, daugh-

ter of Mr and Mrs. Everard William Marks. Also in the court were Misses Margaret Anne Mentz, daughter of Dr and Mrs. Henry Alvan Mentz III; Cameron Crawford Metzinger, daughter of Drs. Stephen Eric and Rebecca Crawford Metzinger; Abigail Caroline Perez, daughter of Mr and Mrs. William Christian Perez; Hannah MacKenzie Pye, daughter of Mr and Mrs. James Benjamin Pye III; Lizette Walker St. Paul, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Roy Allain St. Paul Jr.; Mary Elizabeth Toso, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Brien James Toso; and Laura Elise

Vickery daughter of Mr and Mrs. Eugene Benton Vickery III.

The captain presented red roses to 2024 queen, Miss Celeste Lynn Schonberg, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Stephen Henry Schonberg, and escorted her to their majesties’ throne to champagne toast this year’s monarchs.

Mr Goodier presented yellow roses to the 50-year anniversary queen Mrs. David Charles Sartain, who reigned as Miss Elizabeth Ann Pedrick, and escorted her to the royals, while they returned a champagne toast to Her Majesty 1975.

Escorting maids of the court were vice chairmen Messrs. Dwight LeBlanc Acomb, William Ryan Acomb, Horace Mark Adams, Michael Owen Barry, Hilton Sutton Bell, Alan Guy Brackett, Wesley Weldon Bryan, William Courtade Carrere, John Roache Cook IV, John Ollie Humphreys III, Christopher Seldon Mann, William Sellers Nalty Graham Mears Ralston and Charles Tusa Walsten. Mr Kirk A. Redmann performed the national anthem to begin the ball, while BRW provided dancing music at the queen’s supper in the club, a traditional New Orleans-style breakfast with Southern grits, smothered beef grillades and king cake.

Breaux

Mentz

Kehoe

St. Paul Burton Perez

Marks Vickery Brennan

Metzinger

LeBlanc

Toso

Galloway

Pye

queen of Nereus 2025

topher Charles Roth; and Delanie Coye Sundmaker, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Earl Ferdinand Sundmaker III. Pages to their majesties

were: Masters William Peter Connick III, son of Mr and Mrs. Connick Jr.; James Edwin Dunn IV, son of Mr

and Mrs. Dunn III; Parker Alden Laborde, son of Dr Eric Lanning Laborde and Ms. Elizabeth Thibaut Laborde; and Hewitt James Smith, son of Dr and Mrs. Charles Barrett Smith. The 2024 queen, Miss Caroline Ott Pitalo, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Donald Anthony Pitalo, was presented and received roses.

Melanie Kathleen Talbot, queen of Osiris 2025

Marks

Krewe of Argus says ‘Let the Games Begin’ at ball

It was all fun and games Friday at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner when the Krewe of Argus said, “Let the Games Begin!” at its annual bal masque. Lavish decorations and colorful costumes were the backdrop for a look at family and friends playing board games, including Monopoly, Clue and Candyland.

Reigning as queen of the ball was Miss Sophie Elizabeth Chailland, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Mitchell Chailland. A senior at St. Martin’s Episcopal School, she wore a gold silk sheath gown with a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves covered in imported lace with hand-beaded Austrian rhinestones and clusters of seed pearls. The dress was styled with a traditional Medici collar of gold matching lace, trimmed with Austrian rhinestones and drop crystals. The mantle completed her ensemble. She wore a custom crown and carried a matching scepter. Reigning as Argus XL was Mr J. Garrison Jordan. He was attired in a gold silk

Sophie Elizabeth Chailland, queen of Argus 2025

tunic, which complemented the queen in style and trim. The traditional costume was accented in Swarovski crystals. His mantle matched the queen’s. His royal attire was completed with a custom crown and scepter Maids to her majesty, costumed in keeping with the theme, were Misses Jessica Elizabeth Bialous, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Todd Bialous; Lillian Jennifer Bordelon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Bordelon; Madeline Claire Freeman,

daughter of Mr and Mrs. Daniel Freeman; Sophia Frances Indovina, daughter of Dr and Mrs. Anthony Indovina; Marianne Elizabeth Kononchek, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Christian Kononchek; Katelyn Ann Kopowski, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Leonard Kopowski; Sophia Therese Madden, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Michael Madden; McKenna Elise Ural, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Jason Ural.

Pages to the queen were Misses Charlotte Jane

Hughes, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Wilson Henry Hughes IV; and Kambry Sue Mitchell, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Dane Mitchell. Princesses in the court were Misses Anna Grace and Caroline Rose DePaula, daughters of Mr and Mrs. Robert DePaula; Mikayla Ferina Maenza, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Michael Maenza; Leah Marie and Savannah Ann Main, daughters of Mr and Mrs. Ryan Main; Kylie Blair Mitchell, daughter of Mr and Mrs.

Dane Mitchell; and Madison Olivia Tinsley, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Hamilton Tinsley Junior maid was Miss Molly Rose Dunn, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Samuel Dunn.

Serving as a squire to his majesty was Master John Michael Philippovic, son of Mr and Mrs. Michael Philippovic.

Pages to the queen were Misses Charlotte Jane Hughes, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Wilson Henry Hughes IV; and Kambry Sue Mitchell, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Dane Mitchell. Pages to the king were Masters Mason Dominic Maenza, son of Mr and Mrs. Maenza; and Logan Joshua Torres, son of Mr and Mrs. Joshua Torres.

Captains Lawrence Chehardy and Robert DeViney began the night with the sound of their whistles in traditionally styled black silk tunics with standing collars and ﬂoor-length capes. The duo entered to the 100-member Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce Band

of Excellence under the direction of Mr Devin Starks. Joining the captains were board members and past monarchs. The pageantry began with the presentation of colors by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Honor Guard under the direction of Capt. Aaron Wilkie and the singing of the national anthem by Miss Abby Nastasi, a member of the royal court in 2023. Guests presented included Mrs. J. Garrison Jordan, wife of the king; their daughters, Mesdames McKay Nally and Genna Baumbach; Mrs. Mitchell Chailland, mother of the queen, and Mrs. Robin Chailland Bourgoyne, sister of the queen and a former Argus monarch; and Mesdames Angela Potter and Kim Long, aunts of the queen. Also presented were Mesdames Chehardy and DeViney, wives the captains.

After the presentation of the court, members and guests enjoyed an evening of music and merriment.

Once again, fate determined who would serve as queen of the Krewe of Okeanos. In a backdrop of regal splendor on the 76th anniversary, Miss Claire Schully Deroche, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Carl A. Deroche, was selected as the 2025 monarch. The coronation ball was held earlier in the Carnival season at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in a setting of purple, green and gold hues. The tableau was titled “Great American Road Trip.” The royal maids in the court were Misses Hannah Isabella Catsulis, daughter of Mr Ernest William Catsulis Jr and the late Ms Kimberly

Grizzard Catsulis; Gabrielle Marie Fischer, daughter of Ms. Betsy A. Fischer; Giana Grace Miceli, daughter of Mr Dominic J. Miceli and Ms. Marianna Campo Miceli; Moira Mae Miller, daughter of Mr and Mrs. David

K. Miller; and Allison Ann Smith, daughter of Mr Roy J. Smith and Ms. Jennifer R. Vincent. As is the krewe’s tradition, the queen was unknown until the ball, as she was a member of the party of six maids. Each of the maids represented a landmark, city, custom or American institution that might be seen on a cross-country tour They were escorted to their dukes

San Francisco’s Chinatown, a Hawaiian luau, a traveling circus and Charleston, South Carolina.

In a predetermined order, each maid selected a box wrapped in gold containing a bouquet of red roses with one rose covered in golden damask. Float lieutenants in tradi-

tional Carnival colors festooned with plumage signaled the entrance of the captain, who arrived in a gold brocade costume with a collar of Austrian crystals and a gold headdress with white plumed ostrich feathers. At the captain’s order the maids uncovered their roses. One held a single golden-yellow rose. Miss Deroche picked the yellow rose and was determined to be the 2025 queen She was immediately crowned and escorted around the room by the captain Her majesty was then joined by the king. He was wearing a costume of French white silk trimmed in gold.

by ofﬁcers of the krewe. They represented the Statue of Liberty, Las Vegas,

Catsulis Miceli Fischer Miller Smith

Krewe of Tchefuncte ‘Goes

for ball

With the theme “The Krewe of Tchefuncte Goes to the Box Ofﬁce,” the St. Tammany group rolled out the red carpet Saturday at the River Mill Center at Coquille Parks and Recreation for pageantry beﬁtting a Hollywood premiere Reigning over the ball was Mrs. Marie Pennington. She is married to 2020 king Blake Pennington and the daughter of the late James McDanell and Gayle and Patrick Stephens. She is the mother of Andrew, Lauren, Jennifer, Katherine, Elizabeth, Adam and Allen, and grandmother of seven. A graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, she is a special-education teacher and was named 2025-26 teacher of the year for Madisonville Junior High.

The 2025 monarch was Brad Haddox, married to Lora Haddox, father of Caroline and Brittany, and grandfather of two. His majesty is employed by Bridgestone Americas and a Madisonville town councilman and mayor pro tem.

The royal maids and their escorts represented movie theme. Miss Lauren Bounds, daughter of Mr and Mrs Tim Bounds, represented “Avatar” and was escorted by her father 2022 king. Daughter of Mr and Mrs Eddie Davis, Miss Cecilia Davis represented “Jaws” and was escorted by 2014 king David Stein. Representing “Barbie” was Miss Addison Foret, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Nicholas Foret, escorted by 2023 monarch Paul Gitz. Miss Bejia LopesMorgan, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Martin Morgan, represented character Harry Potter, escorted by Myron Bourg, king in 2012. Miss Kaylee McDanell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kyle McDanell, represented movie character Indiana Jones and was escorted by Rodney Keys, 2018 king.

Maria Pennington, queen of Tchefuncte 2025

Escorted by her grandfather, 2019 king Dave Cooper, was Miss Chloe Morlier, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Paul Morlier, who represented E.T the Extra-terrestrial.”

Miss Brooke Steinhauer represented “Top Gun, is the daughter and stepdaughter of Mr and Mrs. Trinidy Steinhauer and daughter of Ms. Julie Combell and was escorted by her grandfather Bill Trepanier, 2008 monarch. Representing “Star Wars” was Miss Layna Ostendorf, daughter of Mr. Lance Ostendorf and Ms. Tiffany Scallan who was escorted by her grandfather 2013 king Lloyd “Bubbie” Ostendorf.

Ladies-in-waiting were Misses Audrey Bigner, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Bradley Bigner; and Mackenzie Zito, daughter of Mr. and Mrs Christian Zito.

Pages were Masters Elijah “Eli” Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs Matthew Jones; and Silas Cheramie, son of Carter Cheramie and Megan Horrell. The evening began with the dimming of the lights and trumpets blowing. Queens Club representative Amie Aertker welcomed guests and introduced American Legion Post No. 16 who presented the ﬂag. Miss Brooke Steinhauer of Folsom performed the national anthem.

Master of ceremonies Jeff Falkenstein introduced 2024

royals Keith Dennis and Jan Bourgeois Fisher for their farewell promenade. Before the arrival of the court, newly appointed co-captains of the parade Richard BentleySmith and Robyn Brian were introduced. Jim Bouey, the 2025 parade grand marshal, was escorted by outgoing parade captain Iris Vacante.

The king presented ﬂowers to his wife, escorted by Roland Morris, 2002 king. The queen presented ﬂowers to her mother, Mrs. Gayle Stephens, escorted by 2016 king Fred Badon. Board members Vacante, Aertker, Jodi O’Berry, Marilyn Pelloat, Bonnie Dennis, Lisa Melton, Aertker and Elaine Gardner joined Badon to lead the second-line. Music was provided by The Uptown Funk Band.

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?’”

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.

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. 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

The company now employs 13 people in New Orleans, and Elliott plans for that number to hit 25 by the middle of the year

His move got him thinking about whether 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.

ä See OUTPOSTS, page 2E

Traffic through state’s ports point to recovering cruise industry

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 coronavirus 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 on track for another strong year in 2025.

“These valued partnerships continue to drive strong

ä See CRUISE, page 2E

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 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

New Orleans

Matthew L. Stedman was elected as a member of Mouledoux, Bland, Legrand & Brackett Stedman has experience defending employers and insurance carriers against various claims brought under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, Jones Act, Louisiana Workers Compensation Act, general maritime law and general tort law

He earned a bachelor’s in molecular biology and political science from Vanderbilt University and a law degree and bachelor’s in civil law from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center Stedman served as a staff writer for The Civilian, the LSU law school publication.

ElaineWilliams has been promoted to chief commercial ofﬁcer for the Ernest N.Morial Convention Center

Williams has been with the convention center since 1996, starting off as a sales manager for Aramark. She joined the sales team in 2007 and most recently was senior director of sales and event services

Continued from page 1E

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 frequently affect Mississippi River cruises, causing delays and

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

PEOPLE IN BUSINESS

Last year she was elected to the board of directors for the International Association of Exhibitions and Events

Baton Rouge Ashley Cain has joined the staff of Cornerstone, a government relations and public affairs ﬁrm. Cain will serve as the company’s ﬁrst Louisiana-based public affairs professional. She spent 14 years with the Louisiana MidContinent Oil and Gas Association in a variety of leadership roles, most recently as director of public and government affairs.

She earned a bachelor’s from LSU.

Jared LeDoux has been hired by Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center as vice president of human resources. LeDoux has more than 15 years of human resources experience, most recently as vice president of human resources for Premier Health

He earned a bachelor’s in psychology from McNeese State University, a master’s in industrial organizational psychology and a doctorate in

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 summer with dual racing waterslides, more than

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

industrial organizational psychology, both from LSU. LeDoux teaches an online course at LSU in human resource analytics.

Four doctors are set to join the staff of Baton Rouge Orthopaedic Clinic in April.

Dr Joseph “Jeb” Broyles specializes in joint replacement surgery, knee arthroscopy and cartilage regeneration.

Dr Arthur “Art” Hess specializes in trauma, hip, knee and shoulder reconstruction and total joint replacement surgery Dr Mathew “Matt” Mazoch specializes in sports medicine and shoulder and knee surgery

Dr Alan Schroeder specializes in sports medicine and shoulder and knee surgery

30 eateries and an 11,000-squarefoot 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

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, California-based 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 Louisiana-based 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 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

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.

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.

White Cain

Broyles

Mazoch

Stedman Hess

Schroeder

Williams

LeDoux

TALKING BUSINESS WITH STEPHEN TOUPS

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

In the five years since Stephen Toups took the reins from his father Roland

and president has grown Turner Industries’ footprint to 30 states and

into new service lines like advanced manufacturing

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-

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 there are in all cycles, and we will seek them out. Turner has been active for more than a decade in partnering with the state to create programs to train our workforce.Are we where we need to be?

Labor attraction is always going to be an issue for construction ﬁrms. It is always a problem with skilled and unskilled people. Since Turner started talking about this issue 10 years ago, Louisiana has leapt light years ahead of anybody else in the nation We have made incredible changes in articulation of how people can move from two- to four-year schools, get trained up to be a welder or certiﬁed as a site manager Our community and technical colleges system does a phenomenal job partnering with industry We need to do more but we’re moving in the right direction.

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie. riegel@theadvocate.com.

Menhaden: The Unsung Heroes of Louisiana’s Coastal Economyand MarineEcosystem

Thisarticle is brought to youbythe Louisiana CommercialFishing Industry

When most people think of Louisiana’s coastal waters,theypictureprizedcatches likeredﬁsh and speckled trout or the shrimp and oystersthathavemade our state famous.But beneath the surface, a small, unassuming ﬁsh we don’teat plays an importantrole in Louisiana’seconomy: the menhaden.

Found from Florida to Texas, menhaden arepredominately centeredoff the Louisiana coast alongthe Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River estuaries wherenutrientsand planktonare high. As aresult of coastal land loss, inland waterwaysare much largernow resulting in moreareas formenhaden to reproduce and thrivealong the Louisiana coast

Though menhaden isn’tfound on dinner plates, their impact extends farbeyond the Gulf.Their oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids,is akey ingredientinlivestock feed, aquacultureand pet food.

Despitemisconceptions,menhaden harvesting is one of themost tightly regulatedand sustainable fisheries monitored closely by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, Louisiana Wildlifeand Fisheries Commission and the Louisiana legislature. The industry follows scientifically informed managementpractices to ensurelongterm sustainability, working alongside marine scientists and fisheries experts to continuously monitor menhaden populations.This includes utilizing advanced research tools,including satellite tracking and genetic studies to help assess

stock health and guide sustainable harvest levels.Theseefforts align with state and federal regulations designed to balance economic opportunitywith long-term environmental stewardship Today, only twoLouisiana based companies harvest menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico,Westbank Fishing in Empire(Plaquemines Parish) and Ocean Harvestersout of Abbeville (Vermillion Parish). Together,the industry supports over2,000 direct and indirect workers, providing good wage jobs in rural coastal communities and contributes $25million to the state and local economies.Inastate wherecommercial ﬁshing is abackbone of our culture, thesejobshelp keep coastal communities alive.

The menhaden industry catches between 400,000 and 500,000 tons

annually—lessthan 2% of the total menhaden biomassinthe Gulf,ensuring athriving population while maintaining acritical food source forother marine species.Byprioritizing sustainabilityand scientific best practices,the menhaden industry is committedtoprotecting this resource thathas sustained generations of Louisiana fishermenand coastal communities.Becausethe menhaden fishery isn’tjust an industry—it’sa cornerstone of Louisiana’sworking coast,supporting local families while maintaining the ecological balance of the Gulf As policymakersconsider future fisheries regulations,it’simportantto support balanced policiesthatallow Louisiana’smenhaden fishery to continue thriving.

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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 Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, left, runs for a touchdown during the first half of the NFC divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams in Philadelphia on 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 ByASHLEy 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

WELCOME TO NEWORLEANS

ToourSuperBowlvisitors,

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PETE NOVEMBER CEO,OCHSNER HEALTH

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 RICHARDW 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 SUPERDOME

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

CAESARS

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

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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 the New Orleans Saints, who have made the playoffs 14 times but never in the same season when New Orleans was hosting the Super Bowl.

Jersey

(15-2) VS. PHILADELPHIA E AGLES (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)

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.

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

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

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.

Remembering Super Bowl VI, when Dallas dominated Miami THETIMES-PICAyUNEARCHIVE

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-

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.

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

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

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

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 NEW ORL EANS K ANSAS CIT y 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.

Bears beat the Patriots 46-10.

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

‘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 point

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

(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.

THEASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO ByAMy SANCETTA

New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri, right,

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

Two legacies of excellence. Onebrighter futurefor our kids. Introducing

Abold newchapter forkids.

Children’s Hospital NewOrleans –the only comprehensive children’s hospital in the Gulf South –iscelebrating anew chapter and name as Manning Family Children’s.

Together,we’re charting abold newfuture forchild health fueled by twosteadfast Louisiana legacies.

Newname. Aboldnew chapterfor kids.

ThisyearChildren’s Hospital NewOrleans proudly marks 70 yearsofunwavering dedicationtochildren’s health —alegacydeﬁned by standing strong forkids in their momentsofgreatest need, as we havedone sinceﬁrst opening our doorsin1955.

In celebration of this milestone and with abold vision forthe next 70 years, Children’s Hospital proudly begins atransformational partnership with the Manning Family,icons of sportsmanship,philanthropy,

and communityspirit. This partnership marksthe beginning of anew,pivotal chapter in our 70-year story, and anew name –asChildren’s Hospital NewOrleans becomes Manning Family Children’s.

The Manning Family –Olivia, Archie,Cooper,Peyton, andEli -adds their commitmenttoours to help us help morekids and move faster toward our vision of making Louisiana anational leader in child health.

Together,wewill createa lasting legacy of healthychildren and familiesacrossLouisiana, the Gulf South, andfar beyond.

Discovermoreat manningchildrens.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 StarTribune (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

PROVIDEDPHOTO By OCHSNER HEALTH

Dr.Jeffrey Kuo, right,the system medicaldirectorofemergency management at

Health and chair of the medical subcommittee forthe NewOrleans Super Bowl Host Committee, donates automated external defibrillators (AEDs) from Ochsner Health 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.

Ochsner

Eat Fit LiveFit

It’sastereotypethat holdstrue:chocolate isthequintessential comfortfood.Welove toeatit;welovehowit makesusfeel.Andwe lovetousechocolate asatokenofaffection –especiallyaround Valentine’sDay.

Thesweet truth: Unwrapping the health beneﬁts of chocolate

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.

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

Staying hydrated helps your heartpump blood 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

Findingmovement

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

vegetables, rice, meat, and eggs, can help keep your hearthealthy.

BRO UGH TT OY OU BY

Molly Kimball RD,CSSD

Together forour community

Community PurposeinAction

Community Impact Around the BigGame

TheBigGamecomingtoNewOrleansisachanceto spotlightthestories,history,andfutureofourcity–a citythatradiatescultureandresilience.Thisyear,Ochsner HealthishonoredtoserveastheOfficialMedicalProvider oftheNewOrleansSuperBowlHostCommittee.Beyond thegame,theNewOrleansSuperBowlHostCommitteeis committedtogivingbacktothecommunity.

Partnering to Build aBetter Future

Theimpactofthisgameextendsbeyondtheevent itself,especiallythroughtheNFLFoundation’s collaborationwithlocalorganizationstodriveeconomic andeducationalchange.TheImpact59programisa cornerstoneofthiseffort,dedicatedtocreatinglasting philanthropyinGreaterNewOrleans.Thisinitiative,ledby theNFLFoundation,theEntergyCharitableFoundation, NewOrleansSaints,UnitedWayofSoutheastLouisiana NOLACoalition,andOchsnerHealth,hasawardedover $3millioningrantstolocalnonproﬁts.Withstrategic investments,wearebuildingafutureofopportunityand successforthenextgeneration.

Super STEM Bowls: AGame-Changer forLearning

Inthelead-uptotheBigGame,OchsnerEducation OutreachhostedﬁveSuperSTEMBowlsatlocal

schools:LakeForestElementary,LawrenceCrocker, WillowMiddleSchool,Dr.JohnOchsnerDiscovery HealthSciencesAcademy,andKennerDiscovery.STEM (science,technology,engineering,and mathematics)educationinyouthis essentialinhelpingchildrendevelop criticalthinkingskills,creativity,anda loveoflearning.Theseeventsbrought STEMlearningtoover4,200students allowingimpressionablemindstoexploreover30handsonSTEMactivitieslinkingtheexcitementoftheBigGame withlearningandinnovation.Weareespeciallygrateful tothe241Ochsnerteammemberswhovolunteeredtheir time,totalingmorethan750volunteerhours.

4,200+ students were impacted by the Super STEM Bowls program

KeepingNew Orleans SafetoCelebrate OchsnerHealthisalsoplayingacrucialroleinproviding medicalcarethroughouttheBigGame’sfestivities.Weare offeringbothnon-emergencyandemergencyservicesat keylocationsaroundthecity,ensuringthatfans,staff,and attendeeshaveaccesstotop-tierhealthcare.Additionally oursupportfortheNewOrleansPoliceDepartmentwith thedonationofAutomatedExternalDeﬁbrillators(AEDs) andtheNewOrleansFireDepartmentwithiPaddonations furtherunderscoresourcommitmenttocommunityhealth andsafety.

Through partnerships and ashared commitment to New Orleans, Ochsner Health is proudtobeatthe heart of a transformative experience forour city, our people, and our future.

Tolearnmore,visitochsner.org/communityimpact

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.

Q&A WITH CLAyFOURRIER

LouisianaPublicBroadcastingveteran stepsintoretirement

Clay Fourrier leaves alegacy after50years

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

Clay Fourrier’spassion for 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. ABaton Rouge native, Fourrier is aCatholic High School and LSU alumnus. Fourrier pursued that passion through high school, college and 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,executive producer and executive project consultant. He received the LPB President’sAward presented by LPB President and CEO C.C. Copeland.In December,heretired after 50 years with the company How did you decide to makea careerinmedia and television?

When Iwas 12 or 13,I knew what Iwanted to do, but Ididn’tknow how it would occur.Igot my first 8mmcamera from my parents for aChristmaspresent. Istarted making home movies that firstday.From there, Istarted getting my friends together and directing little films.

Idecided Ineeded to be in broadcasting. There was no such thingasmass communication at LSU back then, but you could major in speech, which included things like theater and broadcasting.

In 1972, right out of LSU, I got word of aclosed-circuit medical television network that had been set up by the Department of Hospitals and LSU School of Medicine called “Louisiana Hospital

THEATRE

Continued from page2y

lifelong love of the profession. While she didn’tbegina full-time career as aseamstress until she openedher studio in 2011, VanHorn had gained experiencemaking costumes in college and kept going, making costumes for school plays and local organizations.

VanHorn said introducing people to this technical side of theater at an early age helps to inform career choices, as well as teaches the value of collaboration

“Every role is important,” she said.

Television Network,” and I started my ﬁrst job in educational television. When LPB started in 1975, what wasyour role?

Iwas aphotographer,and Ialsodid sets. When Iinterviewed at LPB in 1975, Igot the art director position, and Iwas very instrumental in the original look of LPB.

Wewent through anumber of names. Finally,wecame up with Louisiana Public Broadcasting, because alot of the other PBS networks were doing that.I helped design the ﬁrst logos and the original sets that were used.

We didn’thave alot of moneyfor an artdepartment back then. There were certainly no computers. I would actually do adsby cutting and pasting little drawings Idid, or cutouts of photographs, puttingthem alltogether and then sending them into the newspaper and such.

Do you ever getnostalgic for those days,as far as the handiwork and the craftsmanship, or were you excited when computers were introduced?

Igotta tell you, Ilove computers.Ilove technology.I love where it’sgoing.

Ihave continued my love of graphics and drawing and art through computers up untiltoday.Ilove it alot more than what Iwas trying todoback then.

What are some importantlessons you’ve learned in 50 years of public broadcasting?

It’snot just aone-person job. It’steamwork. It’sbeing able to be partofa group of creativepeoplethat all develop and share their ideas with one another Ilove the idea of being able to shareback andforth with othercreative typesto basically create aﬁnal production, which is so many different parts of so many different creative minds.

Ialso learned that whatever you do, make sure it’sthe best you can because it will

be around for alongtime. Most of the programming that Idid is available on LPB in our archives for everyone to see.

Howhas your timeatLPB 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 shoot at the Capitol for “Louisiana, the State We’re In.”

We would go around the state, shooting the culture, shooting the people, doing stories on the art, the food, thefestivals,the politics.It was afantastic time because we got to be in themiddle of history,inthe making of Louisiana. Idirected music programs. Idirected plays Idirected French programs, interviewprograms and shows —anything thatcame up that was an eclectic mix of Louisiana programming. What are you mostproud of?

Beinga pioneer in computer animation.

As an executiveproducer, IthinkmyNo. 1program, whichI co-executive produced with Beth, was our Louisiana history series where we started at the very beginning of Louisiana history and moved up to the year 2000.

The coolest thing is we got so many of our programs distributed nationally

The other thing I’m very proud of is that LPB became agreat technological educational resource forthe children of this state. It was something which ﬁrst began as instructional television, and then VHScame out. People were abletorecord 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’s uniqueness is areason whyitwas

Klemmer and KaileyDaniel.

Allegra stressed one other beneﬁt to learning the ropes of theater: personal connection. “I hope that theatercontinues to be aforce forcreativity and imagination in kids’ lives,” Allegrasaid. “So much of kids’ lives are

dominated by electronic communications, apps and artiﬁcial intelligence. Ihope that theater can remain a realconnection to thetangible world and the tangible arts.”

RISHER

from page2y

the city government ofﬁces, the Zócalo has played acentral role in the country’spre- and post-colonial history Its roots date back to theAztec era when it was thecenter of Tenochtitlan. Legend has it that the Aztecswere told by their gods to ﬁnd aplace where they wouldsee an eagle eating asnake on top of a cactus.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 manage water 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 largerscale canals and got more serious about drainingthe lake

Thesun is nowbeginning to set. The lightsof thePalacio Nacional have come on.All these years afterthe Aztecs and the Spaniards, the rally before me continues, but workers are beginning to scatter.Chances

picked up nationally?

Ourstate’suniqueness is the reason why,not only the history program was picked up, but Ithink it’swhy Justin Wilson’scooking shows were picked up back in the early ’80s. It’sthe reason why all the John Folse serieswere picked up nationally

Alot of theprograms 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 the good news about Louisiana to the rest of the country through the PBS network.

What are your retirement plans?

Because Iamwho Iam, I’m still going in as avolunteer helping digitize the LPB history so that we’ll have that, since this is the50th anniversaryofLPB. Ialso have apassion for making sure that the hobby of model trains is continued into the future. Iamthe president of the Louisiana chapter of the

Train Collectors Association andthe presidentof the Greater Baton Rouge ModelRailroaders. We’re located at the Old Hickory Railroad Train Museum in Jackson. I’ve been doingtrain shows in Ponchatoula and now in Covington forabout 20 years. I’ve also been doing aTrainDay at the Main Library for about 10 years, which is coming up on March 1. This interview was edited for length and clarity

FEBRUARY

Adinkra Symbol Exploration

FEB 11

In Dialogue: Sharing aLove of Reading With Your Child

FEB 14

We LOVE LCM Math Activities

FEB 15

Chemistry Experiments with Xavier University

FEB 15

Ti Piti: ALouisiana Musical-Cultural Hour with LesCenelles

FEB. 15

Reading of Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles HenryTurner by Janice N. Harrington

FEB 20

Sensory-Friendly Playtime

FEB 22

Adinkra &New Orleans Architecture withMaster Craft Culture Bearers Darryl A. Reeves andJonn E. Hankins

FEB 22

Creating Healthy Communities at LCMWellness Workshop (FREE)

FEB 22 &23

Mardi Gras Masquerade Wiggle Party

PROVIDED PHOTO

ClayFourrier poses with his President’sLeadershipAward from Louisiana Public Broadcasting in 2021.

PROVIDED PHOTO

In atechclass at Le PetitTheatre are, from left, Zipporah Conner,Suzie

STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER

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.”

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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

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

farmers

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 Holden at joy.holden@

STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

manager Sarah Cross, left, and farmhand Jack Burns chat while trimming okra plants at Baton Roots

on Dec. 17

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