The Hornets are coming off their most successful season ever and despite some weaknesses on the bench and the occasional confounding performance, they appear capable of at least matching last season’s playoff run.
This is a fun time to be following the NBA in New Orleans, and it’s worth savoring. It’s also worth remembering the only other time that the NBA in New Orleans was this much fun.
Most of the football games that the Sugar Bowl has presented during this decade have featured LSU, a national championship game, and on two occasions, both.
This year’s game – which features Alabama and Utah on Friday night in the Superdome – has neither. But just like the last Sugar Bowl in the Superdome that didn’t feature LSU or a championship, the game four years ago between Virginia Tech and undefeated Auburn, this one has an undefeated team as the Utes are the last team in the country without a loss.
As 2008 passes into the rearview mirror, it will be remembered for events such as the New England Patriots being perfect, sort of, Michael Phelps becoming the Greatest Olympian ever, and LSU’s football performance plummeting farther than the Dow Jones.
Here’s a look back at what else happened in 2008, sort of...
The most interesting aspects of the Saints' 29-25 victory over the Falcons on Sunday were coach Sean Payton's game plan and game management.
I've criticized Payton's game management in this space before and I'll be mentioning a couple of concerns from Sunday's game before I'm done with this piece.
But I want to start with the positive because I think it's the most significant thing coming out of the win, which technically keeps New Orleans in the playoff race but which will prove to be essentially meaningless to the standings by Christmas.
The BCS Championship match is all but set - the SEC champion vs. the Big XII champion. I'll be very surprised is that doesn't turn into Florida vs. Oklahoma.
The Gators and the Sooners have been the most impressive teams in the country for the last several weeks. I won't have any quarrel if that's the match-up. Of course, Alabama can still knock off Florida and Missouri could beat the Sooners, opening the door for Texas, or perhaps even USC.
The Hornets are coming off their most successful season ever and despite some weaknesses on the bench and the occasional confounding performance, they appear capable of at least matching last season’s playoff run. 
Most of the football games that the Sugar Bowl has presented during this decade have featured LSU, a national championship game, and on two occasions, both.
As 2008 passes into the rearview mirror, it will be remembered for events such as the New England Patriots being perfect, sort of, Michael Phelps becoming the Greatest Olympian ever, and LSU’s football performance plummeting farther than the Dow Jones. 
The most interesting aspects of the Saints' 29-25 victory over the Falcons on Sunday were coach Sean Payton's game plan and game management.
The BCS Championship match is all but set - the SEC champion vs. the Big XII champion. I'll be very surprised is that doesn't turn into Florida vs. Oklahoma.
