We can begin by saying that Johnny Chauvin's story is New Orleans' story. Five years ago he was wiped out when his home was washed away by Hurricane Katrina; but he had his wife and two sons and he had his music, and so like many touched by the disaster, he set to rebuilding his life.

A welder by trade, the Franklin, La., native had struggled for years in small clubs, casinos and parish fairs in the New Orleans area doing what he believes he was born to do; play his songs. Johnny Chauvin and the Mojo Band became somewhat of a local legend over the past decade, with his raucous Zydeco style and smooth, infectious singing voice winning over all who had the opportunity to hear him play. But at age 50, he never expected to climb much higher. Then, a funny thing happened.

The Saints began their mercurial run to glory, and like New Orleans itself, Johnny Chauvin was reborn. Two of his songs have become anthems for the team's march to success, with the first, Watching Them Play, becoming a local radio, and then national, sensation last month. Then, with the Saints poised to meet the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, Chauvin released We Believe, another Saints' song which is taking the state by storm.

"I'm just blown away by all of this, it's still kind of hard to believe," said Chauvin, a welder by trade who was born and raised in the small town of Franklin, population 9,000.

Next to Drew Brees hoisting his baby son during the post-game celebration, this has to be my favorite Super Bowl XLIV-related photo. Here's Saints coach Sean Payton leaving Louis Armstrong International Airport in Kenner, La., on Monday. How often do you get to hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy up through your sun roof as hundreds of fans cheer? Wait, that's not a Toyota, is it? Get back, everyone!

The scene was a bit more subdued at poker pro Phil Ivey's house, so I hear.

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Parade to give another jolt of Saints euphoria [Palm Beach Post]

If you're attending the Saints Super Bowl parade today in the hopes of exposing your naked lady chest parts in exchange for beads, be aware that you will be tackled, tasered and sent to prison. Or, you know, issued a citation. New Orleans police said that they will not tolerate any nudity at today's parade festivities, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

I have a feeling they're going to need several officers to stop this woman.

The scene at Academy Sports in Lafayette, Louisiana on Sunday night was not pretty, as hundreds (thousands?) descended on the parking lot waiting their turn to get in to purchase Super Bowl championship gear. The store closed at 8 p.m., but reopened at 9:30 when the game ended and multitudes gathered in search of brains souvenir clothing. Friends of the Program has a photo, plus frightening zombie video, of the mayhem.

This is amazing, not so much for the sheer number of people there, but more so that that many people would wear the typically awful looking first versions of Championship gear that gets put out there on the heels of a championship. Pace yourselves Saints fans, quality craftsmanship takes time.

Video following the jump.

I apologize for this post not technically being sports related, but it's for a good cause, so please bear with me. Marilyn's on Monroe, a strip club in Toledo, Ohio, is raising money for Haitian earthquake relief through something it calls "Lap dances for Haiti." The promotion isn't exactly what you -- or Pacman Jones -- would expect; lap dancing is illegal in Ohio. But stripping isn't, and Marilyn's donated the $10 cover charges collected this past Saturday to ISOH/IMPACT, a relief organization based in suburban Perrysburg that provides food and clothing for Haiti. The haul: $1,000.

Bonus fact: The club's general manager is named Kenny Soprano.

From the Toledo Blade: Two sister clubs in the Detroit area, the Landing Strip in Romulus and Subi's Place in Southgate, have scheduled similar events this month with a goal of raising $5,000.

Come on, all you Browns and Bengals players. Time to make it rain for a earthquake relief.

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Ohio strip club hosts 'Lap dances for Haiti' [Yahoo News]
Toledo strip club puts cover charge into quake relief [Toledo Blade]

George Hill's genitals are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame (although I haven't seen them -- could be 30 minutes), but the San Antonio Spurs and the NBA are not amused. Because he obviously doesn't own a TV or a computer and never reads the newspaper, Hill doesn't know that it's unwise to take cell phone photos of your Mr. Happy and send it to various women. That's what he did, and now his junk is about to go viral. The Dirty.com posted several photos of his nether regions recently, and now the Spurs have fired off letters threatening legal action if they're not taken down. The Dirty's reaction? No, we'd rather not.

OK, but here's the problem: I rarely see the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, because I'm not fast enough to catch the mailman's little delivery truck. He steals it every year like clockwork, finally delivering it a week later with several key pages missing and a big coffee cup ring over the cover model. So I have to be content with viewing it online today. Here's a series of tweets by the cover girl, Brooklyn Decker, as she sweated out the cover unveiling (not even the models know who will grace the cover until the very last minute).

Super Bowl is over ... #SISwim bowl begins now ... and nobody looses here! Watch Dave Letterman tom. night 2/8 to find out our MVP! -- 8:42 PM Feb 7th from web

You know u have 20 girls freaking out, unable to sleep 2night, on pins and needles, trying to figure out this darn secret!?! ARGH! -- 8:45 PM Feb 7th from web

And a lot of people have been asking if we know who it is.. we really, I mean REALLY don't know!! -- 8:49 PM Feb 7th from web

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! I Wish I could respond to every single one of you but thank you so much for your AMAZINGLY sweet tweets! -- about 6 hours ago from web

The issue is amazing, glowing, fun, the girls are happy.. it's not over-the-top, the girls and editors should be so proud! THANK YOU ALL!!! -- about 6 hours ago from web

http://tweetphoto.com/10833173 -- about 6 hours ago from web

Now is when I bombard you w/links and pics! http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010_swimsuit/video/brooklyn-decker-diary.html -- about 1 hour ago from web

Tune into the TODAY SHOW today at 7:45am!! Craziness! Really can't believe this is all happening! Then CNBC @ 12:45pm.. will tweet pics! -- about 1 hour ago from web

For a model, this is like winning the Super Bowl, I guess. Oh, and speaking of that, I guess Ms. Decker attended the game in Miami as well. One of her earlier tweets:

Best quote on South Beach tonight "Yo man, wait up for me! My knee popped out of place!!" - Drunk Girl 10:39 PM Feb 6th from Echofon

A word, my lady. We are but poor, lost circus performers. Is Tuesday nearby?

We've heard this before so don't get too excited, but Tiger Woods could be back on the links within weeks. TMZ is reporting that Tiger is planning to return to competition at a tourney in his own backyard; the Tavistock Cup in Orlando clubs on March 22-23. Citing a source "who works for the Woods family," TMZ.com says Woods will use the tournament as a tuneup for the Masters. Last week, the Melbourne Herald Sun reported that Woods was set to make his return at the WGC-Accenture World Match Play Championship on Feb. 17 in Marana, Arizona. But that notion was quickly shot down by Woods' caddy Steve Williams, who said that those reports "had no truth."

My Favorite Super Bowl Image: Drew and Baylen Brees. Baylen is three months younger than my second kid, and I could not only totally picture myself holding him up in this situation, but I can actually sort of understand how Dad Brees must have been feeling in that moment, sharing it with his son. [Dan Shanoff]

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I don't usually watch the Super Bowl halftime show. It's the only portion of he broadcast I feel I can safely miss; I have no idea what interception Peyton Manning is going to throw next, nor which of the six Doritos commercials will finally be funny. But I'm pretty confident I know how Teenage Wasteland is going to turn out. Still, it's fun to speculate on who is going to be next to not entertain me at the big game. Who's it gonna be for 2011 in Dallas? KISS? Metallica? If you said The Monkees, you must be that guy who keeps trying to get me to join his Facebook page. Look, I like Micky Dolenz as much as the next man, but please stop.

Someone who says that he has inside information, however, is telling us today that the halftime show is going country. And our top five choices are ...

Do not jostle Stephen A. Smith! He will not sign body parts! Possibly the finest columnist that the Philadelphia Inquirer was ever forced to rehire due to binding arbitration, our hero made his triumphant return to the Super Bowl on Sunday -- on the Inquirer's dime -- and proceeded to do what Stephen A. Smith does so well. Make himself the story. And if you don't happen to notice him, he'll make sure to remind you on Twitter that Stephen A. Smith is very important. But the fun didn't stop with the "Police Escort." (Love the capitalization).

Sean Payton wasn't the only one who made a great call under pressure during the Super Bowl. Faced with the task of coming up with a funny 15-second spot to promote his show during the game, David Letterman went for the comedy equivalent of an onside kick, and came up big (Hank Baskett not involved this time). Letterman, Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno, on the same sofa for a commercial, with no CGI? That's unpossible. But somehow it happened, and Late Show executive producer Rob Burnett is talking today about the biggest moment of Sunday's Super Bowl commercials. It's no surprise that Letterman was behind the whole thing. But why?

"Dave has a simple edict: If it's funny, we do it," Burnett told Entertainment Weekly. "When CBS says it needs 10 seconds, it's incumbent upon you to do the funniest bit you can do."

A lot of people I know enjoyed this Google "Search Stories" ad that aired during the Super Bowl, although to me it just highlighted how technology is slowly taking over, with the machines surely one day rising up to enslave us in their server farms. But the folks at Slate Video are fighting back, having created a spoof of yon Google ad that also works Tiger Woods into the mix (see it following the jump). Glorious. If Google had the moxy to buy this parody and run it during the Super Bowl, we would have had the game's best commercial by far. People would be talking about it in the same reverant tones as the Apple 1984 spot.

Video following the jump.

And now, in lieu of math, we shall have Fight Club, children. Please move your desks to form a circle. Jennifer, would you be so kind as to keep a lookout at the door in case the principal should walk by? Um, in case someone needs stitches, anyone here know how to sew? That was the scene at a Queens elementary school last week, as a 29-year-old instructor and his 43-year-old teacher's aide are in kind of big trouble for letting two pupils -- aged 9 and 10 -- "fight out their differences" in the middle of the classroom. The instructor, Joseph Gullotta, was charged with two counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17, and could face up to a year in jail if convicted.

So how unglued did the folks in New Orleans become over the past two weeks? The author of the Our New Orleans Saints blog thought they'd get away from football for a bit and pay a visit to the Monster Truck Rally at the Louisiana Superdome on Jan. 30. But a Saints rally broke out anyway.

After the Nitro truck with the SAINTS flag won, the fun really began. I suppose it is called Trailer rally. It is a kind of last man standing race? Cars pulling trailers, some empty, some with boats, some with U-Haul somewhere on the side still came flying into the circle. Two SAINTS (Black and Gold) cars came rolling out with COLTS coffins on their trailer. Real fun. I was waiting for Maximus to be chanted from the Flavian Amphitheatre.

Photo here.

Video of wild Bourbon Street debauchery following the jump.