A few notes and observations before Friday night’s New Orleans Bowl game against Florida Atlantic at the Louisiana Superdome:

Taking a back seat Memphis and Florida Atlantic are vying for a small share of the attention in New Orleans, but Thursday they found themselves pushed back further on local newscasts by civic unrest. Some citizens attempting to attend a packed city council meeting on the proposed demolition of four public housing complexes were turned away by police with mace and taser guns. The uprising made national headlines and dominated local news Thursday.

A coach-and-child reunion Memphis offensive coordinator Clay Helton said he hadn’t had the opportunity to shake hands or say hello to Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger during a busy week of bowl preparations. After Thursday’s practice at the Louisiana Superdome, Helton said he fondly recalls being a frequent visitor to the Orange Bowl sidelines from 1979 to ‘82 when his father, Kim, was an assistant on the Schnellenberger-coach Miami Hurricanes. “It was a fun time,” Clay said. “I was 7 years old in 1979 and I got to hang around with Vinny Testaverde, Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Alonzo Highsmith.”

Louisiana legend Former LSU coach Dale Brown was the featured speaker at Thursday’s New Orleans Bowl luncheon. A motivational speaker, Brown didn’t disappoint. He talked about overcoming obstacles in a speech that mentioned everyone from Elvis Presley to Albert Einstein.

Three days of national attention Friday night’s New Orleans Bowl will be carried by ESPN2 and give the Tiger athletic program the second of three nationally televised events in a span of only four days.