Geaux Tigers!

Congrats to the LSU Tigers, who won another national championship at their dome away from home in New Orleans by beating down Ohio State 38-24. The 2003 BCS title game the Bayou Bengals won was also played in New Orleans as well.

As for poor Ohio State, who is now 0-9 in bowl game competition against SEC schools, it's kinda obvious to me as someone who grew up watching SEC and SWC-Big 8-Big 12 football what Ohio State needs to do to change this situation.

Build a team that can beat an elite SEC school.

I get to see a lot of televised Big Ten football games since moving up here to Da Ville. I have Indiana up the road from me in Bloomington, Purdue a little farther up I-65 in West Lafayette and Ohio State is a six hour drive from me as well. I also get to see a lot of SEC games with Kentucky playing only 76 miles east of here in Lexington and Vanderbilt 2 hours south of me in Nashville.

One thing I've noticed is the glaring difference in speed when you compare the two conferences. Ohio State teams are built to play three yards and a cloud of dust Big Ten football. The pass is more of a surprise weapon in the Big Ten rather than a creative, integral part of the offense as it is in other power conferences like the SEC.

Speed kills, and since SEC teams have it across the board in abundance, they play a faster tempo game. Everything in the SEC is geared to utilize or stop that speed. If you noticed last night, LSU corners were shutting down Ohio State receivers by playing lots of one-on-one man coverage. If that had been an SEC, Big 12 or Pac 10 team team they couldn't have gotten away with that for an entire game.

While what I've stated is obvious, it's easier said than done. LSU teams are built with some of the high-quality Texas high school talent that somehow manages to escape the Lone Star State like LSU quarterback Matt Flynn, who is from Earl Campbell's hometown of Tyler, in addition to the best Louisiana high school players.

While we get Big Ten games televised there, most boys grow up wanting to play for the Longhorns (yecch), Texas A&M, other instate Texas schools or another Big 12, Pac 10 or SEC one. Ohio State's not high on the list of schools for an elite Texas player who has the speed they covet and need to play there.

LSU is more attractive to Texas high school players because it's closer to Texas (especially the talent rich Houston metro area, the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange Golden Triangle and East Texas), has the allure of New Orleans being only 60 miles from Baton Rouge, and has won some titles recently.

Not to take anything away from Ohio State, they're an elite program. They've won a title and made it to the BCS Championship game in back to back years. That's a major accomplishment and they're doing something right. But for Ohio State to take that BCS trophy back to Columbus will require them to build a quick, versatile team that can do more than just win in the Big Ten.

Katrina Plus 2

Today is the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Never forget the people who died.


Never forget Bush's indifference to the suffering of fellow Americans.

Never forget the people who simply want to return home but can't.

Never forget the neglect and suffering our Republican controlled government allowed to happen (and continues to allow to happen) to our people in the aftermath of this disaster.

Keep fighting to make sure that the people responsible for this travesty are held accountable for it.

In New Orleans, Black Carnival Has its High-Society Side

The 2005 Bunch Club Gala attendees seven and a half months before Katrina struck. Photo by Lloyd Dennis

The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS

Considering she says she's not a "girly-girl," Lynez Preyan has spent a lot of time dressing up, practicing the graceful wave of a scepter and working on her curtsy.

"They want us to sweep all the way to the floor," Preyan says, giggling as she demonstrates the move she employed as queen of the Young Men Illinois Club ball. "I'm a little shaky, especially in high heels."

Preyan _ who's older sister Lynesia made her debut with the club in 2002 _ is carrying on family and New Orleans traditions that are an important thread in the social fabric of the city's black community.

After Hurricane Katrina, Carnival clubs to which prosperous black New Orleanians have belonged for generations were lost, their members scattered by the storm.

Last year the Young Men Illinois Club, and its parent, the Original Illinois Club, founded in 1895 by Pullman porters, canceled their balls. The Black Pirates, Plantation Revelers, Bon Temps, Beau Brummels and the Bunch Club also canceled.

This year, many of the clubs are making a comeback.

Mardi Gras in the black community happens on several strata. There are the blue-collar Mardi Gras Indians, whose marches in Native American regalia are highlights of the season, and the middle-class Zulu organization, whose float parade is a local favorite. But the upper crust of New Orleans black society _ doctors, dentists, lawyers or skilled professionals _ debuts its daughters in the private setting of the traditional, invitation-only Carnival ball.

"People only talk about the poor people that were displaced by the hurricane," said Dr. Willard Dumas, a dentist and member of the Bunch Club. "But a lot of the black professionals, families that were a big part of New Orleans economy and culture, were flooded out as well."

Historically, the private side of Carnival has been a mostly segregated affair with whites and blacks forming their own organizations. In recent years, the race barrier has broken down somewhat, partly due to a 1991 city ordinance to bar street parading by racially discriminating groups.

Rex, an old-line white society krewe, admitted black members, but Comus, founded before the Civil War, dropped its parade rather than admit minorities though it still holds an exclusive ball. Zulu has long admitted white float riders.

"We've talked about admitting white members at length," said Lawrence Robinson, president of the Young Men Illinois, and a member for 31 years. "We don't prevent anyone from joining. We just haven't been approached yet. I think it will happen though. I look at the girls now and they have more white friends. They go to school together, play sports together. It'll happen."

The black Mardi Gras clubs are an important part of New Orleans society, said Errol Laborde, a Mardi Gras historian.

"New Orleans always had a large black middle class," Laborde said. "And the clubs became the way they introduced their daughters into society. And just as the white clubs do, it was always in connection with Carnival."

So despite the daily burden of the recovery from Katrina, the balls are reappearing on the Carnival scene. The Bunch and Plantation Revelers will stage scaled-down dances and balls as did the Young Men Illinois Club, though the latter is still short 10 of its 40 members.

Preyan, a freshman pre-med student at Xavier University, was queen for an evening on Feb. 2, reigning over a court of 15 other debutantes under the auspices of the Young Men Illinois Club. They range from 16 to 18 years old and most are students at the city's old-line Catholic high schools.

Preyan's family was displaced for almost a year after Katrina. Her father, who owns an electric service company, commuted from Baton Rouge. Preyan made the trip with him from January to June 2006 so she could finish her senior year at Dominican High School.

Their home in eastern New Orleans was gutted and rebuilt. But damaged houses, some with Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers in the yards, extend out for miles around it.

For the club's debutantes, events begin in September and include a formal tea and three or more formal parties, plus the debutante ball.

They attend weekly meetings with the club's etiquette officer, Gail Barnes-McConduit. Her instructions cover everything from proper table place settings to how to execute the floor-sweeping curtsey they will use at the ball.

"The Young Men Illinois Club has a great interest in teaching these girls how to make the transition into adulthood," Barnes-McConduit said. "That covers everything from table manners to common courtesy."

At 18, Preyan prefers jeans and tank tops. She and fellow debutantes balked a bit when Barnes-McConduit began introducing then to the finer points of protocol.

"It was all about which glass went where, which fork was used for what," she said. "We even had to learn how to walk a certain way. Grace and dignity, I heard those words over and over."

More than that, she began living them.

At the formal tea in September, Preyan, decked out in am off-white silk suit, matching hat and gloves, was undaunted by the elaborate place settings or the sedate ambiance of the regal tearoom.

In addition to the suit for the tea, the debutantes must have a different gown for each party and the ball.

"It is very expensive," said Dalton Savwoir, spokesman for the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office. His daughter, Macy, 17, is making her debut this season.

Besides the wardrobe, which costs thousands of dollars, Savwoir said, there are presents for the queen and the other debutantes, the pages _ young boys that escort the queen onto the stage at the ball _ the club members and their families.

Savwoir threw the required party for Macy at Gallier Hall, the Greek Revival building that served as City Hall for more than a century.

"The party ran about $8,000," Savwoir said. "And that doesn't include the limousine or the hairdresser or any of the incidentals."

The ball was the culmination of the debutante season.

Preyan, in a flowing white gown, a sparkling rhinestone crown on her head, a jeweled scepter in her hand, began the traditional tableau _ the picturesque grouping that highlights the ball.

"I'm supposed to stop when I first step onto the floor and stand there for a minute so the audience can admire me," Preyan said. "My pages will be behind me and we will slowly move around the room while I sweep my scepter back and forth."

Preyan ended up on the stage where each of the other debutantes was escorted and posed.

Although she originally hesitated at the rules that confined gowns to pastel colors with wide straps and billowing skirts, Preyan said she and the other debutantes eventually came around.

"I'm not really a girly-girl, or a tomboy," she said. "But for a little while I get to be an 1890s girl with all the glamour that goes with it. It really is wonderful."

Beaten but Not Broken, Black Krewes Make a Big Return at This Year’s Mardi Gras Fest

photo-the start of the Zulu parade

Tuesday, February 20, 2007
By Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com

When the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, Inc., steps off at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning to lead the Mardi Gras Day parade, it will cap a major recovery of the black Carnival season in New Orleans.

Last year, Zulu, the premier black parading organization in the Crescent City, managed to put together a parade, despite the displacement of many of its 600 members in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The city’s smaller black social clubs, which host parties and debutante balls during Carnival, were mostly absent from the scene.

This year, however, the black organizations have made a comeback.

“We came back strong last year, and we’re going to be even stronger this year. The city needed it,” said Alvin Lee, a Zulu member. “It’s time for it.”

Lee said for a true New Orleanean, Carnival festivities leading up to Mardi Gras are just part of the fabric of life.

“Zulu has been in my life since I was a kid,” Lee told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “There’s something about that second line music. It’s in the blood.”

Zulu is the only black organization marching on Tuesday, but the Bunch Club, the Young Men Illinois and the Plantation Revelers were among the traditional black, middle-class organizations hosting soirees.

The groups have had to patch themselves back into the fabric of New Orleans life because so many of their members were displaced by Katrina. Some commuted from Baton Rouge, Houston or places farther afield to participate in Carnival.

According to the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce Web site, there are about 70 carnival groups. “Some are over 100 years old," the site quotes, "but krewes are continually forming and disbanding.”

A check of a Web site that lists contact information for krewes and social organizations revealed that many no longer have active Web sites, have disbanded or have chosen not to participate this year. A number are inactive because it has been too difficult to keep the organizations going with members displaced by Katrina.

“These cultural events are vital to the city,” Keith Weldon Medley, a writer and a member of Bunch, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “When we put on our dance, we’re making a statement that New Orleans’ traditions are alive and will continue into the rest of the century.”

“To a true New Orleanean, it’s a way to relax, get your focus, deal with the devastation,” Lee said. “For one day, there is no race. Everybody gets along on this day.”

Lee added that for Zulu, Mardi Gras is just one part of its mission.

“Mardi Gras is one day a year. Zulu is 12 months a year,” Lee said, pointing out that while most people know about the revelry of Mardi Gras, fewer know about the community service the organization provides throughout the year.

“We give out Thanksgiving baskets, we have a college fund. We help people in need. We’re a social aid and fun organization,” Lee said.

Zulu is involved with the Partners in Education Program in the city’s public schools. In fact, Morris F.X. Jeff Sr. Elementary School was named for the first black man to become a supervisor in the New Orleans Recreation Department, a man who also was King Zulu in 1972. The organization also has a scholarship fund that helps students at Dillard, Southern and Xavier universities.

“I know any way I can contribute and give back to the things that have been around for years, I want to do,” said Kaira Stelly, who will be riding on the Zulu Governor’s float, one of the most prestigious floats because the Zulu King and Queen will be aboard.

Stelly, a native of New Orleans who now lives in Silver Spring, Md., just outside Washington, D.C., told BlackAmericaWeb.com that she tries to get home every year to participate.

She said that it is even more important to help build the economy and black organizations in the wake of Katrina. She said the Zulu’s theme this year, “Keep It Rollin’,” sums up what participating in Mardi Gras means to her and her family.

“I’ve got family riding with me this year, my dad, my aunt,” Stelly said, adding that it is hard work trying to keep up with the planning meetings and other activities that Zulu sponsors because she lives so far away.

It also is a serious investment of money. Whether you are a member of an organization or a civilian who wants to ride on a float, you have to ante up.

“Anybody can ride a float, as long as you pay your reciprocity,” Lee said. “Everything is a budget; everything is about dollars. It averages $1,200-plus to be a member, then you have to buy your throws,” the trinkets thrown from the floats to the crowd in the street.

The more prestigious the float, the more it costs to ride, but the fee to ride runs around $1,500.

“You have no idea. It gets costly. There’s always that one thing more you tell yourself you wish you had. But I’m at the point that whatever I have, I have. There is no turning back. We have to be ready to start assembling at 2 a.m.,” Stelly said the evening before Mardi Gras.

“Zulu is the first parade of Mardi Gras Day. It’s all black. It’s pretty prestigious,” Stelly said.

“You’ve got to see it to believe it,” Lee said. “Until you really feel it and breathe it and smell it and feel it, you’ll never know. It helps you escape. For that one day, you forget about your troubles.”

Who Dat?

Who dat?
Who dat?
Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints?
Who dat?
Who dat?
Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints?

It's hard to believe, but for the first time in the 40 year history of this NFL franchise the New Orleans Saints will be playing in a conference championship game.
Ever since the Saints joined the NFL in 1967 they've been seen more times on NFL Follies highlights than Super Bowl ones. The city has also hosted more Super Bowls than they've played in.

But the Saints are as much a symbiotic part of New Orleans as the beignets and chicory coffee at Cafe DuMonde, Mardi Gras, and the French Quarter. The city lives and dies with this team. Even though I was a toddler when I lived in New Orleans, the Saints were number two in my NFL affections behind my hometown Oilers. (until they moved to Nashville) They serve as a link to the New Orleans part of my life.

So like Saints fans everywhere I was glued to the TV watching their thrilling 27-24 playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Superdome. While I watched the game my thoughts drifted to my pre-Katrina visits to the Big Easy. I was either hanging out with my godsister and her family and friends in Marrero, driving or flying there to party, or just spending a leisurely weekend there getting away from H-town for a minute and soaking up the city's history, music and culture.

There are a lot of times when sports events and teams can bring a city together. I saw it firsthand during the Oilers Luv Ya Blue days in 1978-79, Phi Slama Jama's 1983 run to the NCAA Championship, the Rockets back-to-back NBA titles in 1994-1995 and during the Comets WNBA dynasty from 1997-2000. The Yankees 2001 World Series run helped New Yorkers for just a moment forget the tragedy that had taken place just a month earlier. The Saints are providing the same medicine for the New Orleans area.

If there's any team in this year's NFL playoffs that deserves to go to Super Bowl XLI in Miami it's the Saints. After a Hurricane Katrina forced relocation that caused them to play their home games in San Antonio and Baton Rouge, they limped through that 2005 season with a 3-13 record. This year the script got flipped. New coach, new players, new attitude, a NFC South title complete with a first round playoff bye and a rebuilt Superdome that they christened with a nationally televised win.

This ain't the 'Aints. This Saints team has an explosive offense and a suffocating defense. The players also realize that they represent something bigger than themselves. They represent the hopes and dreams of the people in the region and a diversion for just a few hours from their post-Katrina problems. Like a lot of football fans across the country I'm hoping the Saints come marching back into the Superdome in February with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in their possession.

That would set off a celebration that would rival Mardi Gras.

Hurricane Katrina Anniversary

Today is the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall in the New Orleans area and Mississippi Gulf Coast. I couldn't let this day pass without commenting on what happened a year ago.

Many Houstonians have deep connections to New Orleans. It's just a five hour drive down I-10 or a 40 minute plane ride away. Whether it was weekend trips we made there to enjoy the city's culture, food, music and history, romance or just visiting friends and family who live in the area, New Orleans is never far from a Houstonian's mind.

As a toddler I lived on the West Bank for two years (in Marrero) when my dad was starting his radio career. If you get me around anyone from New Orleans for a long enough period of time my speech pattern will revert to Nawlinsspeak for a moment.

I made numerous visits to New Orleans over the years and my godsister still lives there with her husband and kids. I went through a lot of emotions in the days leading up to August 29 and afterward.

Concern about my godsister Angela, her family and my friends. Horror at the first pictures of the devastation. The torn roof of the Superdome. The chopped up I-10 bridges across the mouth of Lake Borgne where it meets the Gulf. Shock as the pictures of the Convention Center were broadcast on CNN and seeing the water pouring through the failed levees. Anger as people waited on I-10 for help that was too slow to get there and seeing the bloated bodies of the peeps that didn't make it.
Disgust as the Bush administration cavalierly waited for days before realizing they had a worldwide PR disaster on their hands and belatedly sent supplies in.

I want to say a prayer for the people that tragically didn't make it and the struggles that residents of New Orleans and the Missisippi Gulf Ccast are having rebuilding their lives.

It shouldn't be happening in the United States. But it is.