A few weeks ago, Mercedes Benz replaced Louisiana in front of the Superdome's name as a tease. But, turns out that the German car company will be Da Dome's new namesake. The deal means the state will probably no longer have to pay the team subsidies to stay afloat. Other than making the Saints' home way more appealing to rappers, we already know the stadium is nicely-loaded thanks to off-season renovations. Full details will be discussed at a press conference tomorrow, and the words "win-win" are likely in our future. Coverage here and here.

Da Dome is goin' corporate. Louisiana is apparently not a brand that officials think they can sell the world over, so they're looking for a megabusiness to put in front of the Superdome's name. This week, a banner that read "Mercedes Benz Superdome" was unfurled, but that was apparently just a tease. The real sponsors - who will likely give the Dome millions in exchange for the namesake - have yet to be chosen. SDT and the late Al Copeland sold their companies, so all bets are off in the early handicap. What do you think the name should be? Leave it in the comments below.

FRENCH QUARTER - Jelly Roll Morton's love letter to a Supreme Court Justice, an anti-Huey P. Long pin commemorating a bathroom bust up and the shovel used for the groundbreaking of the Superdome in 1971 are just a few of the items on display at the Historic New Orleans Collection's bicentennial celebration through Jan. 29, 2012.

The lockout has ended and football is on as normal. But fans filing from grill-side into the Saints-49ers preseason game tomorrow night will notice one big difference: Da Dome was all spruced up. The multimillion dollar renovation begins at the place where you rest between touchdowns. The seats were upgraded, or replaced. Other improvements were made to the Saints locker room, which doubled in size, and luxury boxes. The scoreboards and sound system also got brought up a few notches. Wait, does that mean Who Dat is going to be even louder? Coverage here and here

A New Edition reunion and a who's-who lineup of speakers highlight this year's Essence Music Festival.

by Arielle Schecter

The New Orleans Saints are generously offering lessons to Haydel's Bakery on world records/domination: Today at noon, Guinness Book of World Records representatives will be on hand to adjudicate the creation and consumption of the world's largest king cake, taking place (of course) at the

Local mainstay Haydel's Bakery will attempt to produce the world's largest king cake September 22 at the Superdome. The Jefferson bakery plans to ring the Superdome twice with its exponential version of the Mardi Gras breakfast of champions. The cake is slated to clock in at over a mile long. On the list of ingredients (look away for this one diabetics), there's 2,087 pounds of icing and 299 pounds of cinnamon sugar. With the Saints as co-sponsors, we can only hope  the Breesus himself will replace those creepy, plastic messiahs usually found somewhere at the cake's center.