The bad news is that the soul legend Bobby “Blue” Bland isn’t going to make it to the House of Blues Saturday night for their Juke Joint Jamboree show. The night will go on almost as bluesily, though - the openers, the James Cotton Blues Band, will perform as scheduled and the gutbucket New Orleans guitarist Little Freddie King will open. If you miss James Cotton at the Fairgrounds, catch him here - Cotton has blown his harp for everyone from Muddy Waters to Janis Joplin. The good news is that Peaches Records is reopening this weekend in the part of the old Tower Records space on North Peters Street that’s not taken up by the boutique Wish. That’s right - a large, mainstream independent record store in the Quarter. We say woo.

by Alejandro de los Rios

So the good folks over at ESPN the Magazine just can’t seem to give the Crescent City enough love. First their was the Tyson Chandler/Jannero Pargo video (/cough/shamless plug!/cough/) and now there’s two completely (?) unrelated rankings that put New Orleans in the top three of U.S. cities and pro sports teams.

The first, TheMag.com’s All-World Power Rankings put up yesterday puts New Orleans in first place above angry bears and referee morality, which is always nice.

The second is from the print edition of the Magazine (on newsstands now!) which features the New Orleans Hornets as No. 3 in its annual “Ultimate Standings: Fan Satisfaction Rankings.” From the Web site:

Budding star Chris Paul and his ‘mates sure help. And so do promotions like Guys Night Out Wednesdays ($44 for two tix, two beers, postgame photo with a pair of Honeybees) and Friends and Family Weekend Packs ($77 for four tix, four hot dogs, four chips, four 7-Ups). And while New Orleans Arena has a blah color scheme and mediocre amenities, management makes up for it with bobbleheads, free jerseys and the occasional $1 brewski. “The people of New Orleans don’t really need an excuse to party so you know we get into it,” says Hitley.

And yes, that Hitley they quote is none other than Ron Hitley over at Hornets247.com, making this all the more sweeter. Now if the Hornets would only give Hitley and other bloggers (that don’t contribute for ESPN the Magazine) a press pass, it might catapult them to No. 1 in next year’s rankings.

Just like Barack Obama was taken to task over comments his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, made and this prompted Obama to make his famous speech on race. Today, we have John McCain in town, so maybe, even though he really hasn’t been too pressed on the issue, McCain will answer why he solicited and gratefully accepted Rev. John Hagee’s endorsement. If you recall, Hagee knows why the levees failed: God did it. Check out bark, bugs, leaves, and lizards latest post, and please tell me why, to use a phrase from the Obama speech, McCain shouldn’t throw Hagee under the bus, and drive over him again a couple more times?

by Sam Winston

So says this CNBC article about how the team turned it around on the money side against all odds.

“What New Orleans’ success on the court — and recent string of sellouts prove — is that there is no such thing as a good or bad market. Everything is relative. All markets are driven by a variety of factors and winning tops all. “

(Hat tip: Kush Connection)