Saints savor Super Bowl win

The biggest story around the state is the New Orleans Saints’ historic Super Bowl win. In an open letter to the NFL, The Times-Picayune says the victory means the Saints are no longer the league's doormat. "We know that for 43 years, whenever you needed a team to hold up as an example of a perennial loser, whenever you needed some team to make all the other teams and their fans feel better about themselves, we have been your go-to guys," says the letter. "Not anymore. We are the champions, my friends. And as such, we expect to be granted all the rights and privileges afforded to fans of other championship teams." Read the full letter here.

Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks, who picked the Saints to win the Super Bowl, says Drew Brees' near-perfect performance was the key to the victory. "After a first quarter in which he and his team looked a little awed and a little out of sync, Brees steadied himself and turned in one of the most proficient performances by a quarterback in Super Bowl history," Banks says. "He simply got better and better as the game wore on, and so did the Saints." Read the full story here.

Tracy Porter, a Port Allen native, was another hero, picking off a Peyton Manning pass and running it back for the game-clinching touchdown. Porter also attracted attention earlier in the game for his eye-catching haircut: It featured the Lombardi trophy and an image of the Superdome. Porter told The New York Times he paid $40 plus tip for the haircut on the day of the game. The haircut took so long, Porter thought he would miss the team bus to the stadium. See the story here.

To see how the championship game was covered by newspapers across the country, click here. The Saints will return to New Orleans at 2 p.m. today. Their victory parade will start at 5 p.m. Tuesday. To view a map of the route, click here. The parade will be televised by Cox Sports Television.

Jindal makes moves in Miami

In the hours leading up to the Super Bowl, Gov. Bobby Jindal held forth at the chic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla., just minutes south of Miami, shaking hands for $1,000 a pop. The private reception—“A Black & Gold Brunch & Tailgate”—also offered donors a photo opportunity with the governor for an additional $4,000. While the figures are further proof that Jindal’s fund-raising efforts will exceed all current records when his 2009 campaign finance report is filed with the state next week, they likewise indicate that Jindal is swimming in the deep end of the political pool. The invitation to Sunday’s event asked donors to RSVP with Meredith O’Rourke, an incredibly successful fundraiser who has helped Florida Gov. Charlie Crist shatter money records in the Sunshine State.

O'Rourke has also aided U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, the Kansas Republican who made a primary run in the 2008 presidential election. When Brownback was elected senator in 1996, O’Rourke was working with a consulting company named Triad, which fell under heavy fire for its questionable tactics in the race. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs eventually got involved and found that "Triad used a variety of improper and possibly illegal tactics to help Republican candidates win election in 1996." During the committee’s investigation, O'Rourke sat for a 174-page deposition that lawmakers partially used to explain, among other things, how donors could keep pouring money into campaigns even if legal maximum contributions had been reached. This weekend’s event wasn’t the first time Jindal’s campaign and O’Rourke worked together. In late February 2009, Jindal traveled to Orlando for a family vacation that included a fundraiser. —Jeremy Alford

Pinnacle announces new credit agreement

Pinnacle Entertainment, which has delayed the start of construction on its River Road casino because of difficulties in borrowing money, has secured a $375 million line of credit. The new agreement includes outstanding Pinnacle debt; the company has already drawn $110 million under the deal. Pinnacle is preparing to open a casino near St. Louis next month and recently started work on its second Lake Charles casino.

Snow possible in parts of Capital Region later this week

Another round of winter-weather conditions is possible later this week, the National Weather Service’s Baton Rouge-New Orleans office says. An area of low pressure that is anticipated to develop in the western Gulf of Mexico and move across the middle or northern Gulf waters could bring frozen precipitation north of the Interstate 10-Interstate 12 corridor, especially across the northern Florida Parishes and southwest Mississippi. “There is still quite a bit of uncertainty in the forecast,” the NWS says in today’s hazardous weather outlook, “but the models are starting to indicate certain things lining up for the possibility of moderate to heavy snow … with accumulations possible.” The forecast for Baton Rouge calls for rain with a low around 37 degrees Thursday night, a chance of rain and snow with a high near 46 on Friday, and mostly cloudy with a low near 34 on Friday night. To monitor this weather situation, click here for the NWS’ local Web site.

LHC Group announces another acquisition

Home health provider LHC Group Inc. has agreed to acquire the assets of Hutcheson Home Health in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. Terms of the deal were not revealed. Lafayette-based LHC Group says Hutcheson has about $3.5 million in annual revenue and serves a population of about 322,000, about 12% of whom are over the age of 65. LHC Group also says it has entered into joint venture for home health services with Hardin Medical Center, a 58-bed hospital in Savannah, Tenn. Its service area has a population of 104,000, with about 17% over the age of 65.

Corporate Cup set for April 17

Teams can start signing up for the 22nd annual Providence Corporate Cup 5K Walk/Run, which will be held at 9 a.m., April 17. The route of the race, co-sponsored by Business Report, will cross downtown and Mid City. For more details or to sign up, visit corporatecup.net.

Snickers tops Super Bowl Ad Meter

Three years after it was hammered for what people felt was an anti-gay Super Bowl commercial, Snickers is relishing its own success with the Super Bowl’s best-liked commercial as measured in USA Today’s Ad Meter. This year’s ad featured octogenarian actors Betty White and Abe Vigoda in a rough-and-tumble football game that ultimately gets both of them tossed on their fannies. “Obviously, we were very, very concerned about portraying a brand like Snickers in the most positive light,” says Carole Walker, head of integrated marketing communication at Mars. “It’s three years later, we’ve done our homework. We’ve done our research. We were absolutely not nervous about the campaign in any way.” This marks the first time Snickers' maker, Mars, has won Ad Meter; last year's winner, Doritos, placed second this year with an ad about a dog with an electronic bark collar who gets revenge on a nasty dude. Ten-time Ad Meter winner Anheuser-Busch finished with two ads in the top five. The brewer bought five minutes of airtime, more than any other advertiser. Nearly 60 commercials, at $2 million to $3 million per 30-second slot, aired during the game. To watch the ads and rate them yourself, click here. To see a ranking of all of the Super Bowl ads, click here.

Poll: Super Bowl win will have biggest impact on New Orleans

Mitch Landrieu and the New Orleans Saints were the two biggest winners in the Crescent City this weekend. But 63% of respondents to a Daily Report poll say the Saints' Super Bowl win will have the biggest impact on the city. Thirty-seven percent say Landrieu's outsize win in the mayoral primary will make the most difference in New Orleans. More than 1,500 people participated in the survey.

Today’s question: Which Super Bowl commercial was your favorite?