A few notes and observations from New Orleans, where the Tigers are awaiting Friday’s bowl game against Florida Atlantic:

Temper, temper After spending Tuesday getting acclimated with the French Quarter, the Tigers resumed practice.

And for the first time since the U of M began preparations for the bowl, Tiger coach Tommy West lost his patience. He stopped practice to admonish the team for its lack of concentration. He said he’ll turn today’s walkthrough at the Louisiana Superdome into a normal practice, a rarity before game day.

Several who attended the workout, and weren’t familiar with West’s practices, asked if the blowup was legitimate. West isn’t known for playing such games. He was serious and upset with the offense’s lack of timing.

Extra, extra read all about it In a city that will play host to an intriguing Sugar Bowl (Georgia vs. Hawaii on Jan. 1) and the BCS title game (LSU vs. Ohio State on Jan. 7), one would expect the local newspaper (The Times-Picayune) to give the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl scant attention.

Yet Wednesday’s paper devoted a front page story (on Florida Atlantic linebacker Cergile Sincere) to the game and a full inside page, which included an article on U of M special teams player Turner West, son of Tiger coach Tommy West, and several note items. Tuesday’s sports section had a story on former Memphis QB Danny Wimprine, a New Orleans native and a quarterback for the city’s Arena Football League franchise.

A Grand Slam The U of M practiced at Tulane, which has recently rebuilt its on-campus baseball stadium. The facility, located next to the football practice field, is an impressive 4,000-seat stadium, built at a cost of more than $10 million. The stadium was damaged during Hurricane Katrina andhad to be rebuilt.

Seeing Blue in the Big Easy Or expecting to see it. Longtime Tiger fan and Highland Hundred member Perry Short called after reading Tuesday’s story on the expected low turnout among U of M fans. I wrote that Tiger AD said nearly 4,000 tickets had been sold through the Memphis ticket office.

Short said he’s predicting the Tiger contingent will surpass 5,000. He said a number of fans bought tickets through TicketMaster and not through the U of M.