MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Aints aren’t the Aints anymore. It took 43 years but the New Orleans Saints are finally champions of the football world. And to think, Mardi Gras starts in just eight days…

Drew Brees played brilliantly, the Saints defence came up big when it had to and cornerback Tracy Porter returned an interception 78 yards with just a little more than three minutes to play as the Who Dats upset the favored Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV.

With the score 24-17 and the Colts rallying, Porter picked off the great Peyton Manning on the Saints 22-yard line and returned it untouched to the end zone as the NFC champion Saints shocked the football world.

It was an amazing victory considering the Saints were lucky to beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 at home in the NFC championship game. Even though the Vikings had five turnovers, the Saints still needed overtime in the din of the Superdome to get to Miami for Super Bowl XLIV.

Then, last night in New Orleans, the Saints fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter, 10-6 at the half, and still stormed back to win going away.

Heading into the game, the Colts were five-point favourites, but many, including both The Coach and Dr. Sports here at www.rivercitysportsblog.com, believed the Colts had far too much firepower for the Saints and their No. 25-rated defence.

However, it was a timely defensive play that ultimately gave the Saints the victory.

“The interception was a result of great film study,” said Porter after the game. “We knew that on third-and-short they stack, and they like the outside release for the slant. It was great film study by me, a great jump and a great play.

“This means so much for New Orleans and the Saints organization. Words can’t describe how much this means for New Orleans. I’m a Louisiana native and this is big.”

The game MVP was, obviously, Brees and what a return to glory this was for the Saints QB. Given up by the San Diego Chargers three years ago, Brees joined the Saints and after putting up huge numbers for the past three seasons, he finally won a championship.

In the biggest game of his life, Brees went 32-for-39 for 268 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer’s rating of 114.5.

“I always kind of dreamed of this moment,” said Brees, as he accepted his MVP award. “I believed it would happen and I knew that if we played as well as we could, we were prepared to be successful. This is so big for the community and for me and my family, I can barely put it into words.

“This means everything to New Orleans. We’re here because of their strength and everything they fought for the past few years. They’ve given us so much support, we owe it to our fans.”

The Colts put up more yardage (432 to 332) and had more first downs (23-20), but also had more penalties for more yardage (five for 45 yards as opposed to three for 19 for New Orleans) and Manning threw that one dagger-through-the-heart interception.

Manning finished 31-for-45 for 333 yards, one touchdown, one INT and a passer’s rating of just 88.5.

“I know how we felt three years ago when we won,” said a disappointed Manning afterward. “We’re disappointed but this is their night. This night belongs to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. It’s their field, they deserve the victory and they should be proud of what they’ve done.”

It was also another big game for Saints kicker garrett Hartley. The man whose field goal beat the Vikings in OT, became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to kick three field goals of plus-40 yards in a single Super Bowl. He had three-pointes of 46, 44 and 47 yards.”

There were 74,059 spectators inside Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, about 25 miles north of Miami, and the vast majority of them were Saints fans. Amazingly, four hours before the game, as Saints fans walked the final three miles to the Stadium in a huge congregation, all you could hear was the cheer: “Who Dat?! Who Dat?! Who Dat Who Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints!?”

After the game, it was a din, sheer bedlam, as New Orleans fans basked in the Saints first championship in 43 years of existence.

“This is a blessing to the City of New Orleans,” said Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who also had family caught in the recent earthquake devastation in Haiti. “I am so happy we were able to bring it to them.

“It is a dream come true. I cannot express what it means to win this game. It is absolutely a dream come true.”

Must admit, it was great just being in Sun Life Stadium (BTW, why doesn't a Canadian company like Sun Life ever sponsor sports in Canada?), watching history.

FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH, Fla. – As Robert Randolph and the Family Band, the Barenaked Ladies and O.A.R. rocked the beach at Super Bowl Saturday Night, the ticket scalpers and bookies did what it is they do.

The 44^th Super Bowl game for the championship of the National Football League will be played at 6 p.m. (EST) on Sunday evening as the NFC champion New Orleans Saints take on the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts. It’s Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning. It’s 4,388 yards vs. 4,500 yards. It’s the No. 4 offence in the NFL against the No. 2 office in the NFL.

Taking everything into consideration, the Colts should win this football game. They have the better offence, the better defence (18^th vs, the Saints at 25^th) and, of course, Manning at quarterback.

And while we’ve selected the Colts to win by two touchdowns, we do have some concerns.

As we pointed out earlier this week, Scott Greene was named the head referee for this game. He’s been known to tinker, shall we say, with the outcome of games. The officials will play a major role in the game’s outcome.

As well, Vegas will have a say.

Clearly Vegas wants a close game. The point-spread runs from Indy minus-4 to Indy minus-5. So far, 70 per cent of the money bet on this game has been bet on the Saints. If the Colts win the game, but fail to cover the spread, Vegas stands to make a bundle.

As our Las Vegas gambling expert, Fort Rouge Ted, pointed out yesterday, “The Vegas books get to keep all the M/L wagers on the Saints (70 per cent) and P/S wagers on the Colts (66 per cent) and only pay out 30 per cent & 34 per cent respectively, all the while keeping their vig.  And if the defenses keep the score under 56 (that’s the current over-under), Vegas will make hundreds of millions of dollars.”

If the boys in Vegas want a close game and the head referee has been know to “keep it close,” in the past, it might not matter how much better than Colts are. This game just might be close.

* * *

TWO NFL LEGENDS IN TROUBLE AT WORK

Michael Irvin and Warren Sapp are having a bad weekend.

On Thursday, Irvin was charged in a civil law suit with the alleged rape of a woman at the Hard Rock Casino near Fort Lauderdale. It is not a criminal charge, but it was enough to force ESPN to dump Irvin from his radio show at ESPN 103-3 in Dallas.

He’s still working with the NFL Network and has filed a $100 million countersuit in Dallas County, Texas.

Meanwhile, another NFL Network star, former Tampa and Oakland defensive tackle, Warren Sapp, was arrested on Saturday afternoon and questioned by Miami Beach in an alleged domestic violence case at a Miami Beach hotel.

Sapp will not appear on the NFL network until network brass “review the matter.”

* * *

VIKINGS FANS URGE FAVRE TO COME BACK

After visiting with the greatest Viking fan of them all, Winnipeg’s Syd Davy, this afternoon at the Renaissance Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, it came to light that Vikings fans are willing to put their money where their mouths are.

The fans rented a billboard in Favre’s hometown of Hattiesburg, Miss., with the following message on it:

"Hey #4, do Minnesota fans love you and want you back next year? You Brettcha!"

“I had no idea what to expect," Vikings fan Jay Tappe told the Hattiesburg American, after staring the campaign on Facebook. "We have enough to keep the billboard up for at least another week. We'll try to keep it up for about a month. It's crazy.”

Favre, 40, still hasn't decided to return to the Vikings next season. He does have one year remaining on the two-year contract he signed with Minnesota. If he returns, it will be his 20th NFL season.

Meanwhile, Davy, 51, who is known as “100 per cent Cheese Free,” attended the annual Lee Steinberg Party yesterday and will be in full regalia with two of his lieutenants, at Sunday night’s Super Bowl XLIV.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — There is an old story about former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Thomas (Hollywood) Henderson (there were a lot stories about Henderson), who played in three Super Bowl games.

Henderson was at a Cowboys practice in 1978, the year Dallas whipped Denver 27-10, when he turned the tables on the media.

"Hey, you guys," he summoned. "Why do they call this the ultimate game? They're going to do it again next year."

It's true. The winner of the Saints-Colts battle at Sun Life Stadium, just down the road in Miami Gardens on Sunday night, will only be champion for a year. This is, after all Super Bowl XLIV (44, for those who are tired of Roman Numerals). There will definitely be another one next year.

However, in order to keep up with the experts, we've called in Dr. Sports to pick us a winner. But as you'll see, we don't necessarily agree…

NFC Champion New Orleans Saints 15-3 vs. AFC Champion  Indianapolis Colts 16-2 (-5.5)

By Dr. Sports and The Coach

We'll be shocked if the Saints come up with any way to contain Peyton Manning. He's just on a completely different level right now. We've both been watching the NFL for more than 30 years (in the Coach's case, more than 50 years) and we can't remember any quarterback playing this well.

Making matters worse for the Saints, if they even figure out how to befuddle Manning for even a couple of series, they're still going to have to worry about the run. New Orleans has surrendered at least 4.6 yards per carry in each of its past four games. Indianapolis, meanwhile, actually outrushed the Jets in the AFC Championship. If the Colts can get their running game going again, they won't be punting much on Sunday.

There is a wild card in this game though. Scott Green is the head official on Sunday. He is the same crooked official from last year’s shady 11-10 San Diego at Pittsburgh game. Letting Green run this thing, is like letting Bernie Madoff invest your hard-earned cash.

For those who don't remember, that game was one of the shadiest NFL games in league history. Pittsburgh, favoured by five, was up 11-10 when it kicked off to San Diego with a few seconds remaining. The Chargers, desperate to make a play, tried a few laterals. Troy Polamalu subsequently picked up a loose ball and ran it into the end zone, which would have covered the spread for Pittsburgh. As the players were running off the field, with the score 17-10, someone upstairs called for a review. The corrupt official then went to the replay “hood”.  When he finally emerged, he ruled that one of the laterals was an illegal forward pass even though it was clear that the lateral in question didn't go forward, actually it went backwards by about seven yards (the NFL admitted as much afterward) which, according to him, meant that the play was dead and the points came off the board. I'm willing to bet - and I'm dead serious here - that someone from Vegas (or another outfit that had major interest in San Diego covering) told the official to leave the game as an 11-10 final.

What are we trying to say? Don’t trust the spread here.

Dr. Sports: Colts to win, but they won’t cover.

The Coach: (I don't trust officials at all, but I don't think they're capable of fixing this one) Colts to win and cover — by two touchdowns.

The Doc went 169-97 overall on the season and 140-126 against the spread. The Coach finished 166-100 straight up and 142-124 against the spread.