At the Finish, It Was Saints Who Were Southern Fried

Figuring a little hex never hurts, a New Orleans radio station marked Friday the 13th by staging a voodoo ceremony at the grave of voodoo priestess Marie Leveau.

There were incantations, an appeal for a New Orleans Saint victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. There was also a sacrifice of sorts. Instead of the blood rites of voodoo, participants waved pieces of fried chicken over the grave.

The fried-chicken hex worked until the last 46 seconds of the game, when the 49ers rallied to win, 21-20.

Trivia time: What trophy is awarded to the winner of the UCLA-USC football game?

Touchy Irish: Cris Collinsworth, who along with Tom Hammond announces Notre Dame football games for NBC-TV, is becoming aware of the paranoia that exists in South Bend, Ind.

“They don’t want to be criticized at Notre Dame,” Collinsworth told USA Today. “It’s Camelot. When we talk about Notre Dame sitting on the ball, running up the score, or Lou (Holtz) choking that guy (referee), they view us as the outside evil empire.”

Only in New York: Tennis player Mary Joe Fernandez, who is playing in the Virginia Slims Championships in New York, was asked to recall her strangest moment in the city.

She said she was standing on a street, watching a man trying to get into his car after locking the keys inside. Seemingly out of nowhere, a man walked up with a huge key chain, unlocked the car, then kept walking.

Game plan: Quarterback Joe Montana’s career with the 49ers might be over because of elbow surgery. He told Joan Ryan of the San Francisco Examiner that he will miss the crazy things that happen--such as players going to the bathroom on the field.

“I was just thinking about that the other day, five players huddled around a guy so he can go to the bathroom,” Montana said. “I mean, where else can that take place?

On any beach.

Trivia answer: The Victory Bell, which has its 50th anniversary on Saturday.

Quotebook: Helmut Meyer, explaining why he won’t run again for president of the German Track Federation: “I used to count medals. Now I count urine samples.”