BUSY BREES: After a news conference in Fort Lauderdale and a riding in a parade at Disneyworld in Orlando, the Super Bowl MVP flew to New York where he appeared on "The Late Night Show" with David Letterman.

Brees said Saints coach Sean Payton did an excellent job of getting his team ready for the Super Bowl and tossed a pass that Letterman caught in the studio. Letterman held up a copy of Sports Illustrated that features a cover photo of Brees holding his one-year-old son.

Brees returned to New Orleans after the show and will be in the City of New Orleans' parade on Tuesday evening that starts at the Superdome. 

The Times-Picayune  ran a five-inch headline that said "AMEN" on Monday. The subtitle read, "After 43 years our prayers are answered." At Lakeside News in Metairie, which usually sells about 100 copies a day,  sold 6,000 to 7,000 by 9:15 a.m. on Monday...Angola, the Louisiana state penitentiary had the Super Bowl on television in all the dorms,  and even some of the cell blocks where problem prisoners are kept. Prisoners decorated their dorms with Saints and Who Dat signs...I'm sure that when Peyton Manning was growing up, he always wanted to throw the touchdown pass that would give the Saints a Super Bowl victory. On Sunday, he did...Ouch!...The Saints had most of America pulling for them in the Super Bowl, but they also   had going for them the best team and the best quarterback that night...But don't pin the defeat on Manning. Credit the Saints. It was a victory earned...New Orleans had been waiting for this night since 1967....

SUPER BOWL BETS: Several Indiana officials are prepared to make good their bets with their Louisiana counterparts. Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard's staff contacted the five food vendors who will donate their trademark treats to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Among the goods that will be sent are cookies from IndyAnna's Catering; a case of pork tenderloins from Mug 'n Bun, a platter from Judge's Bar-B-Que; shrimp cocktails from St. Elmo Steakhouse; and Cajun Food from Papa Roux.

"As disappointed as we are that we didn't win," said Lacey Everett, a Ballard spokesperson, "all of  these groups are excited to be able to share what they do with New Orleans."

Indiana governor Mitch Daniels also will have to honor his end of the bet he made with Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.

Under the terms of that wager, the state with the winning team must send a flag to the governor. This is to be displayed by the other governor on his car, in his office or at another public location.

Daniels had yet to receive a flag from Jindal, and once it arrives, depending on its nature, the governor will decide where to display it.

Indiana House speaker B. Patrck Bauer also said he was ready to make good his bet with Louisiana House speaker Jim Tucker. Bauer owes Tucker an assortment of Notre Dame chocolates from South Bend Chocolate Company.

"I'm hoping after they taste these, they'll buy more,"  said Bauer with a laugh.

UPDATE: The Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million persons, surpassing the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H to become the most watched program in television history.

The Nielsen Co. estimated on Monday afternoon that 106.5 million persons watched the Saints upset the Colts.

Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its recovery from Katrina and the quest for a second Super Bowl ring for Peyton Manning propelled the viewership.

This game also obliterated record viewership for a Super Bowl: last year's game between the Steelers and the Cardinals in which 98.7 million persons watch.

Jackson voted into Hall of Fame

Rickey Jackson belonged in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday he was voted in after being passed over for years

Former Saints coach Jim More said, "The man belongs in the Hall of Fame." Jackson played outside linebacker for 13 years was the heart and soul of a feared defense that made the team contenders in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  He is the first player who spent the bulk of his career with the Saints be voted into the Hall in Canton, Ohio

Jackson played his final two seasons for the San Francisco. He hurt a lot of players, earned Pro Bowl selections and finished with 128 career sacks. He earned a ring in Super Bowl when the 49ers defeated the Chargers 49-26.

Jackson wore shoulder pads designed for quarterbacks and receivers for most of his career. He never saw the point of wearing too many pads. They just slowed him. Pads were for other players. The players Jackson hurt.

Jackson has traded in hurting people for helping them. He lives in New Orleans. He visits schools. He wants to rebuild parks in the Lower Ninth Ward. "I feel like New Orleans really needs me," said Jackson.  "I had been away and now I'm back and just trying to get some things going.  There are a lot of things I can do and they need me here."

"I'm very happy to get voted in," said Jackson.  "It means that you are one of the best in the world. I proved I was one of the best in the world."

Jackson never missed a game because of a football-related injury. In fact, he played his last seven years with a plate in his face to protect a broken cheekbone he suffered when he drove his Corvette under a 16-wheeler on a highway.


:He was one of the toughest men I ever met," said former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert. "He could have played without shoulder pads."