Jimmy Buffett was in New Orleans this weekend where he attended the New Orleans Saints playoff game. And on Sunday he was at the track to watch two of his horses:

Legendary singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett, in town to attend the previous night’s playoff win by his beloved New Orleans Saints, was at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Sunday to see Who Dat Ambush, a 3-year-old colt owned by a partnership including several of Buffett’s friends, win the sixth race. Who Dat Ambush is named for the legendary onsides kick that the Saints recovered to start the second half of Super Bowl XLIV, a play the Saints coaches called “Ambush.”

Two races later, Buffett saw Fleurdefortyfour, which he is a part-owner of along with several Saints front-office executives as part of Last Mango Racing Stable, finish off the board. Fleurdefortyfour also has a Saints-themed name referencing Super Bowl XLIV.

The naming rights to the Miami Dolphins’ home field have been sold again. The team is expected on Wednesday to announce a five-year deal with Canadian-based Sun Life Financial that will give the stadium its second name change in as many years.

The move was not unexpected. When the deal with Land Shark Lager, a Jimmy Buffett branded beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch, was signed last May, the parties made clear it was a one-year deal that would end at the conclusion of the Orange Bowl.

The deal with Sun Life is reportedly worth $7.5 million per year.

In May, Jimmy performed at a press event announcing the deal. He also played a show outside the stadium before the Monday Night game on September 21st when the Dolphins hosted the Colts.

A couple different articles report that Jimmy Buffett is dining Saturday night with old friend Ed Podolak, former running back for the Kansas City Chiefs and play-by-play man for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa is playing Georgie Tech in the Orange Bowl at Landshark Stadium in Miami on Tuesday. One of the articles says that Buffett will be heading to Tahiti this week.

Ed Podolak is sleeping on a boat.

Well, not a boat, exactly… a motor yacht near Fort Lauderdale Beach, courtesy of an old pal at a local boat company. And speaking of old pals, the Saturday night itinerary for the former Iowa star-turned-analyst was slated to include a dinner with music icon Jimmy Buffett.

Podolak said Buffett wasn’t staying for Tuesday night’s Orange Bowl at Land Shark Stadium, a building that , for now boasts Buffett’s Land Shark Lager as its title sponsor.

“He scheduled over the Orange Bowl,” Podolak explained.

“Buffett will be in Tahiti during the Orange Bowl because he didn’t think the Hawkeyes would be playing in it,” Podolak said.

2009 was another big year for Jimmy Buffett. His summer tour was hugely successful again, he partnered with the Miami Dolphins to rename their home field Landshark Stadium, and a new album dropped in December. And of course there was lots more in between. So here’s our Jimmy Buffett 2009 Year in Review:

January

• In early January Jimmy made a swing through the Caribbean, making stops at his Margaritaville Cafes in Grand Cayman and Cozumel where he, Mac, and Nadirah played surprise shows
• Buffett attends Wounded Warriors Project’s Soldier Ride in Key West
• Spring and summer tour dates began to trickle out in mid-to-late January

February

• On February 2nd Margaritaville.com confirmed all shows for the Summerzcool Tour
• Also on February 2nd, Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber Restaurant opened in Honolulu
• Parrothead license plates become available for South Carolina residents
• On February 12th, Jimmy played a surprise show at the Margaritaville in Key West



• About 2 weeks later, Mailboat Records releases 4 digital downloads from the Key West show
• On Tuesday the 24th, Buffett and the Coral Reefers open the 2009 Summerzcool Tour in Maui
• On the 26th he plays a private show for the opening of Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber

March

• Jimmy performs at Netscape founder Jim Clark’s wedding in the British Virgin Islands



• In late March, we report that Margaritaville Rum is coming soon
• Also at the end of the month, Coral Reefer Mac McAnally releases a new single: “You First”

April

• Buffett sends out an April Fool’s joke on his Twitter account saying that the summer tour has been canceled
• On April 10th, Jimmy called in to Radio Margaritaville to discuss the tour and a new album in the works



• First rumblings surface about Jimmy entering into a partnership with the Miami Dolphins
• Spring tour kicks off in Atlanta on April 16th
• Buffett also plays Dallas, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Tampa in April
• A planned Today Show appearance by Jimmy in Key West in May is scrapped so that the NBC staff could stay in NYC to cover the Swine Flu outbreak

May

• It was announced on May 1st that Jimmy had entered into a agreement with the Miami Dolphins to rename their home field “Landshark Stadium”
• “Summerzcool” is released as a digital download



• The Fall tour dates are removed from Margaritaville.com, causing mass speculation and frustrating parrotheads on the West Coast
• On May 8th the Dolphins held a press conference in Miami announcing the stadium’s name change to Landshark Stadium. Jimmy performed at the event
• Tour resumed on May 14th in Phoenix. Jimmy also plays Las Vegas, Concord CA, and Irvina CA in May
• Additional Fall tour dates are announced in London, Paris, Orlando, and Charlottsville, VA. The San Diego, Seattle, and Las Vegas shows planned for the Fall are officially canceled

June

• Trump Entertainment Resorts terminates the agreement with Coastal Development to buy the Trump Marina and Casino and turn it into a Margaritaville-themed casino
• It’s announced that the first Canadian Margaritaville will open in Edmonton
• “Margaritaville” referenced on The Colbert Report
• On June 13th Jimmy performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee
• i-Encore, a parrothead iPhone app is released in mid-June
• Tour resumes on June 18th in Camden, NJ. Jimmy also plays in Pittsburgh and Boston
• In late June, former Coral Reefer Tim Krekel (pictured right) died after a short battle with cancer

July

• On July 1st, Jimmy Buffett and parrotheads are mentioned on an episode of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
• Jimmy performs in London on July 5th
• On July 9th, Jimmy rode along in the Lance Armstrong’s Team Astana car at the Tour de France
• It was reported that Jimmy Buffett serenaded Walter Cronkite in the weeks before his death
• In late July Coastal Development sues Trump over the Atlantic City casino deal



• On the 29th, Jimmy makes a surprise appearance at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York
• Jimmy performs and is interviewed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on July 29th

August

• Tour resumes in Cincinnati on the 6th. Jimmy also plays Chicago, Indy, Detroit, Atlantic City, Wantagh NY, and East Troy WI in the month of August

September

• On the 2nd, Politico reports that Jimmy Buffett was at the White House



• Jimmy speaks and performs at a memorial for Walter Cronkite in NYC on the 9th
• In mid-September the Orlando show scheduled for November 14th was removed from Margaritaville.com’s tour dates page with no explanation given
• Jimmy lends his boat to three combat veterans
• Prior to the Dolphins Monday Night Football game on the 21st, Jimmy performs outside of the stadium
• A new line of iced tea by Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville is announced
• On September 30th it was announced that Jimmy had joined the effort to restore Miami’s Marine Stadium, the venue for the Live By The Bay show from 1985.

October

• On October 16th the Margaritaville on Grand Cayman was robbed
• Jimmy plays for the National Association of Convenience Stores in Las Vegas



• Jimmy performs at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, CA on October 24th

November

• We reported on the 3rd that “Margaritaville” had been trademarked for video game use
• On the 7th, Jimmy played a show on St. Barth’s for the 60th anniversary of Le Select
• The CMA Awards were held on the 11th and Coral Reefer Mac McAnally won Musician Of The Year for the second straight year
• Jimmy plays final shows of the Summerzcool Tour in Charlottsville VA, Toronto, Uncasville CT, and New York City
• On the morning of the 23rd, Jimmy appeared on the Today Show to discuss his upcoming album “Buffet Hotel”

December

• Jimmy’s new album “Buffet Hotel” is released. It’s Jimmy’s first studio album since “Take The Weather With You” in 2006
• On the 9th, Jimmy and the Zac Brown Band tape an episode of CMT Crossroads in Nashville
• We reported on the 13th that Buffett had acquired two new airplanes
• On the 17th, we reported that an aviation departure procedure out of Palm Beach International Airport in Florida had been named after Jimmy
• We report on the 18th that a job listing for a General Manager at a Margaritaville location in Nashville had been posted
• On Christmas Day, Jimmy celebrated his 63rd birthday

Jimmy Buffett will play outside of Landshark Stadium again today before the Miami Dolphins – Tampa Bay Buccaneers game:

Multi-Platinum Album singer Jimmy Buffett will return to the Land Shark Tailgate Stage at the AT&T Grand Plaza near Gate F this afternoon prior the the Dolphins-Buccaneers Game at Land Shark Stadium.

In 2009, Jimmy Buffett became involved with the Miami Dolphins and due to the popularity of his Landshark Lager, he was able to strike a deal to pay for re-naming right of Dolphin Stadium to Landshark Stadium. Buffett also wrote new lyrics for the team to his 1979 song “Fins”, which is played during Dolphins home games.