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Still gloating over that 49ers’ loss to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl?....

It is somehow being portrayed as a negative, but it is anything but. LSU passing game coordinator Joe Brady left to be the new offensive coordinator for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Defensive.....

I have never met Daryl Morey, but I am a huge fan. Morey, the general manager of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, had the temerity to tweet out support for the protesters in Hong Kong.

On a Sunday night in New Orleans in January, Bourbon Street looked like the Sunday night before Mardi Gras. The LSU band played, as thousands of Tiger fans were singing and dancing. There was lots of purple and gold interspersed with some Clemson orange.

After a 26-20 overtime playoff loss to Minnesota, the reaction on social media was what you would have expected. The gamut ran from “The referees ripped us off, again” to “It is time for the Saints to move on without Drew Brees.”

On the night Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy, there was not a dry eye at the Heisman ceremony or in the state of Louisiana. ​ A quarterback who has completed almost 80% of his passes was on target, again and again. ​He thanked his offensive line by name. ​He thanked head coach Ed Orgeron for “giving me the keys.” ​ He said the Burrow family could never repay Orgeron for the faith he had in Joe. ​ And, he mentioned growing up in southeast Ohio, a place where poverty is still common and opportunity is often lacking. ​Burrow told those in Ohio, that if he could make it, so could they.

Moments after a 37-10 rout of Georgia, the confetti, purple and gold, of course, fell in droves from the roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. LSU had defeated yet another college football powerhouse.

Raise your hand if you had a blast during the first week of February 2010 in Miami? Thought so.

For LSU, the Georgia Bulldogs have always been a litmus test. Earlier this season, LSU coach Ed Orgeron was asked when the Tigers became quarterback Joe Burrow’s team? “The Georgia game,” said Orgeron.

As the first summer without professional baseball in New Orleans since 1992 approaches, here’s more than a hint of optimism: Minor league baseball could return, as early as 2021.

On the drive back Sunday morning from Meridian, Mississippi, a reporter wondered. What is the definition of surreal? Because, that is what happened on a Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

It was a sure sign that Tulane University is in the midst of football ascension. There was a line to get into Yulman Stadium for last Saturday’s game against Tulsa. A lengthy line. That was a tangible sign of progress. Thousands of fans were clad in green. Tulane was proudly displayed on their shirts and sweaters. Being a Tulane football fan was cool, again. It was great to see.

If not now, when? That’s what LSU fans should be asking as next Saturday’s game at Alabama approaches. There’s no better time, to end a losing streak against the Tide that runs all the way back to January 2012 in the Superdome.

As Sean Payton is showered with praise over the Saints’ 6-1 start, here’s a question: Is Payton that much different as a head coach than he was when the Saints went 7-9 for three consecutive seasons?

He was happy as the head coach at Scotlandville High School. His team had won 10 games only to lose 42-41 to Mandeville in a regional round 5A playoff classic. Then, Robert Valdez’s youngest daughter, Raina, now 16, spoke up.

I may be hallucinating. However, sometime soon, my guess is Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson will be in charge of another New Orleans franchise. If the state of Louisiana and the Southern League get it right, they’ll entice Mrs. Benson to bring minor league baseball back.

It was a tangible sign of progress, if there ever was one. A long-time Tulane football fan, one who said he would no longer go to home games because of his mounting frustration, approached a reporter at a high school football game. He had his Tulane football polo on and promptly proclaimed the following: “Roll Wave!”

It was a moment dripping with irony: On the day that news leaked that Sean Payton had agreed to a five-year contract extension, the Saints head coach got an unexpected look at the future beyond Drew Brees.

Sean Payton is big on themes, and moments after the Saints’ last preseason game, he was quick to turn the page, and so were his players. “Coach mentioned that the last five years, we haven’t won the opening game,” said quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. “We are going to see what we can do to  change that.”