Congrats, Saints - Now, Back To Work For The Rest Of Us

FOOTBALL SEASON IS OVER - CONGRATS TO THE SAINTS
Well, the football season is officially over now. Congrats to the New Orleans Saints for their HUGE win, 31-17, over the Indianapolis Colts Sunday in the Super Bowl. It was a great game and the Saints certainly deserved to win - for themselves and the City of New Orleans. And, yes, I was 180 degrees wrong with my pick, keeping my string intact. :-)

BOTH PLANNING COMMISSION AND COUNCIL MEET NEXT WEEK
In an unusual bit of scheduling, next week both the Planning Commission and the City Council will meet.

GENERAL PLAN AND WESTSIDE SENIOR DEVELOPMENT
The Planning Commission, under the guidance of Chairman Jim Righeimer, will review the city's general plan and discuss a development on the Westside in which senior housing is being proposed.

BUDGET STUDY SESSION
The City Council will hold a Study Session on Tuesday and will devote the entire time to a discussion of the Mid-year Budget review. This should be very interesting because we should have a pretty good idea of how the city is doing in the revenue department - both sales and property tax numbers should be available - and also should have a much clearer idea of the impact of the enhanced retirement package that was offered to nearly 150 employees.

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING - CLOSED SESSION
A special City Council meeting will immediately follow the Study Session, but it will be a closed session at which the sale of the Fairgrounds will be discussed. When I saw that item I wondered just what there is to discuss right now, since the State has not indicated whether they will accept or reject any or all bids in the recent auction.

MONAHAN ON KOCI-FM
Then, tonight I discovered the YouTube video of Councilman Gary Monahan's visit to radio station KOCI 101.5 FM last weekend. This nearly 10 minute snippet of his time on the air was illuminating because he told the radio audience that the city is currently pursuing a Lease/Purchase option with the State for the Fairground property that might turn out to be more profitable to the State in the long run. That was the first I'd heard of that plan. It's interesting that no member of the real media has reported that fact yet. You can watch the clip and learn more for yourselves. Remember, this is radio and the video is very poor.

It's That Time Again - Super Bowl Sunday!

MARBLES? WHAT MARBLES?
OK, I know you've had more than you want to hear about the Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints on Sunday for "all the marbles". (What marbles? Who rolls them? Do we refer to the losing team as having "lost their marbles"?) But I digress.


A MISSED DOUBLE-D OPPORTUNITY
I think the NFL is missing a huge marketing opportunity. For this, the 44th Super Bowl, they should have Dolly Parton do the half-time show. Get it? Oh, well. Instead, they're going to have a bunch of geriatric rockers, The Who, perform. I hope they can make it up on the stage with their walkers, for goodness sake! The show would be perfect if the NFL could have found another group to follow them - The Dat!

BLINDFOLDED MONKEY PICKS 'EM
Back to the subject at hand. After my outstanding pick in the BCS Championship Game (note: tongue firmly planted in cheek), I knew you'd be waiting for my take on the Super Bowl game Sunday.


IF THEY PLAY TO THEIR POTENTIAL...
I'm going to hedge my bet... IF, and that's a huge if, both teams play to the best of their ability, I think the Colts will win by two touchdowns. That assumes a lot - that Reggie Bush doesn't fumble, for example and that Peyton Manning continues to demonstrate that he is head and shoulders the best quarterback in the NFL today - heck, maybe ever.

AND THE WINNER IS...
So, here's my score - Colts 38 - Saints 24.... Now lets see how it goes.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 2009 HIGHLIGHTS

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 2009 HIGHLIGHTS