Sports: Blog of New Orleans, Gambit

City Park's miniature golf course opens May 24

Kevin Allman — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:53:00 -0500

New Orleans City Park is getting a new 36-hole golf course — a miniature golf course. City Putt will have its grand opening May 24 across from the entrance to Storyland and the Botanical Gardens.…

Who Dat new Who Dat? Three facts about Kenny Vaccaro

Alejandro de los Rios — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:58:00 -0500

As my colleague, Gus Kattengell, noted yesterday: pretty much any defensive player the Saints chose with the 15th overall pick in the NFL Draft would have been an improvement on last year's historically bad defense. So New Orleans surprised no one by picking a defensive player and chose someone many consider to be the best safety in the draft, Kenny Vaccaro of the University of Texas.…

Saints 2013 schedule released

Kevin Allman — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:02:00 -0500

Start planning your Sundays and your prime times, New Orleans ...

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Zephyrs to Houston?

Alex Woodward — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:55:00 -0500

Despite many New Orleans sports fans firmly planting their heads underground like defective Who Dat ostriches, deaf to anything other than football in the football-less months, the 2013 baseball season opens tonight. Amid the stirrings of the dozen matchups is a news item that hits, or strikes, or puns closer to home: the possible move of New Orleans' minor league heroes.…

Steve Gleason, Scott Shanle and other athletes announce support for marriage equality

Alex Woodward — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:15:02 -0500

Minnesota Viking Chris Kluwe and Baltimore Raven Brendon Ayanbadejo announced a long list of supporters co-signing a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting marriage equality and challenging California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage.

In a statement, former New Orleans Saint Scott Fujita said, "Football is a macho sport, but we've found many players to be accepting.…

Nuclear Cowboyz supercross stunt show makes first appearance in New Orleans this weekend

Alejandro de los Rios — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:39:00 -0600

Anyone not up to date on the world of freestyle motocross may be surprised to see what is taking over the New Orleans Arena this weekend. Nuclear Cowboyz ("the only high octane-fueled freestyle motocross touring production in North America," according to their press release) will bring their part-WWE, part-X-Games-style narrative stunt show to New Orleans for the first time.…

Y@ Speak: Boil water advisory edition

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:13:00 -0600

Boil order for East Bank only. Remember, if you're going to the West Bank for water it still costs a dollar to come back.…
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"Do atheists hate the Saints?"

Kevin Allman — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:57:00 -0600

Once again, people are debating whether the name of the Washington Redskins should be changed out of deference to Native Americans. The Kansas City Star does not use it, and the CBS TV station in Washington D.C. reports "The Washington City Paper, DCist, and even select Washington Post writers have joined the Star in its uphill struggle against tradition."

Which leads us to the letters page of the Post this morning, where a reader complains "The political-correctness police have started their ritual" and goes on to wonder:

Are there no more important issues these days?…
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Wrestlemania coming to the Superdome in 2014

Kevin Allman — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:25:00 -0600

New Orleans will have nearly 14 months to prepare for the arrival of WRESTLEMANIA XXX (imagine that phrase in some awesomely '80s heavy-metal font, please), which will erupt in the Superdome on Apr. 6, 2014.

At The World's Loudest Press Conference this morning, Mayor Mitch Landrieu and tourism officials welcomed World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.…

Y@ Speak: The Beyonce Blackout Bowl edition

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:53:00 -0600

Lights out!!! Any questions??
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) February 4, 2013

All the lights are out!!…
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Roger Goodell talks bounties, brains, regrets and hospitality

Alex Woodward — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:30:00 -0600

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not the most popular guy. We've been reminded, often, lately, about his help to keep the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, how he wants the Superdome to remain a Super Bowl destination, and how we should put the past behind us and move forward and just enjoy the game, will ya.…

Here's the schedule for Super Bowl Boulevard music and food fest

Alex Woodward — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:25:00 -0600

That is, Verizon's Super Bowl Boulevard, the free four-day music and food event from Super Bowl XLVII spanning Woldenberg Park from Jackson Square to Canal Street.

The festival opens tonight with the delivery of the Super Bowl XLVII numerals by barge — they'll arrive at 6:30 p.m.…

NFL Experience opens: Deuce, the Lombardi, "epic" and peanut M&Ms

Alex Woodward — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:38:00 -0600

St. Augustine High School's Marching 100 blasted through the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and at its lead were Louisiana State Police, looking crisp in blue and really pissed off (or stern, can't tell), surrounding Deuce McCallister, whose gloved hands carried the Vince Lombardi Trophy down a red carpet to its glass-cased throne under a massive portrait of itself.

That long-winded sentence is to say that people really love the Lombardi trophy.…

Gambit TV: Clancy's Commentary

Gambit TV — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:00:00 -0600

Yesterday, Jay Cicero, head of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, made it official: New Orleans intends to make its case to bring the Super Bowl back in 2018.

Last night in his WWL-TV commentary, Gambit political editor Clancy DuBos said it’s not too early to plan for Super Bowl LII.…

Super Bowl Media Day photo roundup

Alejandro de los Rios — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:14:00 -0600

Boy was that a whole lot of craziness that just went on at the Superdome.

Having never been to a Super Bowl Media Day before, I don't know if there's much I can really offer other than saying that for one hour, each team is subjected to a barrage of questions and photographs from infinite angles.…

Super Bowl Media Day: Ray Lewis, gay marriage, root beer glazes and Edgar Allan Poe

Alex Woodward — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:20:00 -0600

The Super Bowl Committee estimates more than 5,000 reporters arrived in New Orleans to cover Super Bowl XLVII. Today, buses unloaded them all, seemingly, into the Superdome for Media Day.…

NFL Experience opens Wednesday

Alex Woodward — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:52:01 -0600

Inside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, construction crews rushed to wrap the 850,000 square feet space that is the NFL Experience, the Super Bowl-driven football circus/playground tailored to its host city and football fans who likely didn't score a ticket to the big game. Among the dozens of peripheral Super Bowl fan activities, it's the NFL's trademark Super Bowl attraction, and it returns to New Orleans for the first time since 2002 — but it's a much different monster.…

Y@ Speak: Arty Gras

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:55:00 -0600

Duke living the dream at Barkus! #nola #barkus #mardigras2013 twitter.com/aaron_wa/statu…
— Aaron M. Roy (@aaron_wa) January 27, 2013

Carnival got going this weekend with some bigger krewes rolling Uptown.…

It's official: The Hornets will become the Pelicans

Alejandro de los Rios — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:12:00 -0600

The New Orleans Hornets, in possibly the most anti-climatic press conference ever, officially announced today what people have assumed for weeks. Beginning next season, New Orleans' NBA franchise will be known as the Pelicans.…

NOLA.com asks: when is Super Bowl 2013?

Lauren LaBorde — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:06:04 -0600

As New Orleans prepares to host the event know as the "Super Bowl," there are many questions on locals' minds. Which major roads will be closed?…

Y@ Speak gets dirty

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:54:00 -0600

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." MLK Jr.
— CRayNagin (@RayNagin) January 19, 2013

My favorite throw caught/gifted to me last night at Krewe du Vieux!…
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Alicia Keys to sing national anthem at Super Bowl

Alex Woodward — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:30:00 -0600

Before the big game kicks off Feb. 3, 14-time-Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" inside the Superdome.

This is Keys' third time singing at the game — in 2005, she sang “America the Beautiful” with students from the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind before Super Bowl XXXIX, and she performed at the Super Bowl XLII Pregame Show in Arizona in 2008 (below).…

Landrieu to anti-Goodell fans: "Be on your best behavior."

Alex Woodward — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:20:00 -0600

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ranks pretty low among New Orleans Saints fans' favorite people. Literally.…

"Super Bowl Boulevard" music and food festival lineup announced

Alex Woodward — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:10:00 -0600

Quint Davis today announced the lineup for Verizon Super Bowl Boulevard, a free four-day festival along the Mississippi River between Jackson Square and the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. The event features 49 bands on four stages, 12 parades and 17 restaurants serving 54 dishes.…

Storyville Apparel is holding a New Orleans Pelicans design contest

Alejandro de los Rios — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:31:40 -0600

Not too long ago, we posted about 99Designs.com's winning entries to their New Orleans Pelicans' design contest. The designs, which were presumably made by a whole lot of people not from New Orleans (the winning artist is from Eastern Europe), ranged from clever to silly and we urged local t-shirt designers Storyville and Dirty Coast to come up with their own mock-ups.…