With the Saints in the Super Bowl, we want to focus as much on the city of New Orleans as we can. I had the great pleasure of talking with my TSB cohort, and all-around gif magician, LSU Freek, about the Super Bowl, the city and more. Who Dat.

But first, Nick and I talk Greg Oden’s penis apology (and why does this always have to do with OSU players) and the fact that we live in a world where this becomes a front-page link on ESPN.com.

We then talk about another number one falling in college basketball and how great it is for the sport that nobody seems to want the number one spot. And frankly, it doesn’t matter anyway. More than any other sport, the college basketball poll is really just so the media has something to do throughout the year to help them get a handle on who is good, who might be good and who is no longer good. But, if the rankings don’t matter, why does it always seem to get to the top team? Or is it just timing and completely coincidental to their ranking? So much fun.

FREEK:

I talk with LSU Freek for a while about a lot of things, including his gif images, his Etch-a-Sketch art (amazing) and of course, the Saints. At the end of the conversation, I realize that I am one of the (probably) many people who are asking those in New Orleans to take a great event like the Saints going to the Super Bowl, and using it as a gateway to talk about a time that wasn’t so good down there. “Hey, congrats, now let’s talk about how crappy things use to be.”

That’s totally not fair, but in a way it is important to know where the city is post Katrina. We’re worrying so much about Haiti and other, more immediate problems, but what’s life like for those who just four years ago had their lives turned upside-down? The pain of losing a loved one doesn’t go away just because it happened four years ago. Sure, people have to move on, but have they been able to? Freek worked in the hospital for three weeks straight after Katrina and has a first-hand recollection of the devastation. How important have the Saints been to the city’s reclamation? How cathartic was the win on Sunday?

And what was the scene like in New Orleans after the Saints won. Biggest party ever? What about two weeks from now?

Which leads to a breakdown of the Saints chances from a completely biased sports fan. It’s fun to indulge.

Prints Not Dead:

Nick and I discuss the upcoming announcement about the Apple Tablet and if it really will revolutionize the print business like pundits are suggesting. We still content that there’s a tactile importance to magazines and books. This tablet may be the greatest invention ever, or it may be a big toy Apple sells billions of and nothing more, but I can’t turn the publishing industry upside-down like they’re saying.....can it?

And we talk about Newsday’s giant firewall that let 35 people in. Nice plan, Cablevision.

Housekeeping:

PFT had a report that the Superdome won’t be opening for the game to let fans watch. They suggest (correctly) that the NFL doesn’t let big parties watch the game because it hurts their TV ratings. But I wonder if the Superdome operations people are using that rule as a defense mechanism, throwing the NFL under the bus when they just don’t want to try and set it up. Think about how many people they’d have to pay for parking and security and concessions and to clean up. They could easily collect money for charity (half to people still hurt by Katrina and half to Haiti relief). The NFL would surely approve that. Something doesn’t seem right.

Besides, now everyone can go over to Freek’s house!

Thanks for listening.