I am sick and tired of everyone picking on this year’s Super Bowl ads. For the most part, I think they were terrific, and, in fact, a significant step up from last year. (more…)

In August of 1967, when my parents left for a much-needed vacation from their hectic lives in our native New Orleans, our uncle came to stay with my brother and me.

Our uncle was very cool. I mean he was from California. Not just California, but Los Angeles. Hollywood, in fact, because he had even had bit parts in movies. He was actually the Marlboro Man in a television commercial. On top of all that, unlike his scholarly brother—a politically active rabbi—our uncle was a sports fan.

On Thursday morning, while reading The Times-Picayune sports section, our uncle announced that New Orleans’ NFL expansion team would be playing its first preseason game in Louisiana that Saturday in Shreveport. He asked if we wanted to make the drive to northern Louisiana and watch the Saints make their home-state debut. (more…)