The Outdoors Inc. Cyclocross Championship is Sunday, November 15th, at Greenbelt Park on Mud Island. The event includes something for riders from 5 to 55 years old, ranging from a 50-yard dash to a 40 minute race over the 1.5 mile course. More info here.
It is not unusual, in the course of one-on-one election campaigns, for one candidate — and sometimes both — to propose joint appearances in the form of debates or forums. And conventional wisdom holds that one of the two candidates — the one considered to be the favorite — is likely to decline, overtly or indirectly.
The reasoning for such a refusal is the obvious one: Why give an underdog a position of parity?
So when the Memphis/Shelby County League of Women Voters, roughly a month ago, sounded out both Adrienne Pakis-Gillon, the Democrat running in the December 1st special general election for state Senate District 31, and former state Rep. Brian Kelsey, her Republican opponent, about a joint appearance, it was not surprising that Pakis-Gillon should accept right away.
Nor was it extraordinary for Kelsey to put off giving a positive response. He, after all, was heavily favored — for reasons of name recognition, because of an impressive campaign war-chest, and, not least, because he was the Republican running in an area, centered on Germantown, that is historically Republican.
Neither the League nor Pakis-Gillon wanted to leave it at that, however. They persisted in trying to get a straight up-or-down answer from Kelsey.
It is fair to say that the response Kelsey gave to the Flyer Thursday night was fairly categorical: “Why should I waste my time with the League of Liberal Women Voters when I’m trying to deal with real voters?” Kelsey said, “Nobody’s been more accessible to the voters than I’ve been,” and he pointed out that early voting in the special-election race had started and said that he was spending considerable time every day at polling places greeting voters. “It’s too late to be talking about this now, anyhow,” he said.
As for debating Pakis-Gillon, Kelsey said, “What’s to debate? She’s a Barack Obama big-spending liberal, and I’m a conservative in tune with the conservative sentiments of this district.”
In short: No to the idea of debating.
Peg Watkins, president of the MSCLWV, professed to find Kelsey’s characterization of her organization “amazing,” maintaining that the League was formally non-partisan and studiedly neutral concerning elections. “I’d be happy to send him a copy of our mission statement,” she said.
And, indeed, when Kelsey was reminded that the immediate past president of the League, Dee Nollner, was a Republican, he grudgingly acknowledged the fact. “Okay, there are a few, but mainly they’re the League of Liberal Women Voters, and I don’t have time for them.”
For her part, Pakis-Gillon said that she intended to represent the entire community, Democrats and Republicans. “I don’t put a label on myself,” she said. “I’ve worked with members of both parties on community projects, and they’re all entitled to representation in the Senate.”
The December 1st election will determine who fills the seat vacated by former state Senator Paul Stanley, who resigned last summer after becoming involved in a sex-and-blackmail scandal involving his legislative intern.
The man who was arrested for attempting to burn a gay pride flag in Memphis has military ties. Bianca Phillips has more.
Former NBA star and actually pretty good TV commentator Jalen Rose with a common-sense take on the Iverson situation:
Ross Burton, the 23-year-old arrested early Wednesday morning in an attempt to burn the gay pride flag at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC), is a member of the Memphis-based 164th airlift wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard.
Burton was arrested after plainclothes Memphis police officers spotted him and another man attempting to set fire to the rope that holds the rainbow flag in front of the MGLCC.
Burton and the other suspect struggled with the police and even tried to disarm an officer. The police received minor cuts and bruises in the fight, and the suspects fled the scene. Burton was located about an hour later and charged with aggravated assault and vandalism over $500. The other man got away, but a police spokesperson says they now have another person in custody for questioning. No charges have been filed against that person at this time.
Though there is no known connection at press time, an MGLCC billboard depicting gay local former Marine Tim Smith was destroyed in September. The billboard, located at Poplar and High, read, “I’m gay and I protected your freedom.”
Dajuan Wagner. Shawne Williams. Derrick Rose (remember him?). Tyreke Evans.
If John Calipari’s tenure at the U of M is remembered for anything, it will be for the star “one-and-done” players he lured to Memphis from as far away as Philadelphia and Chicago. Among Calipari’s expected stars this year at Kentucky will be John Wall, a player he initially recruited to Memphis, and one certainly bound for the 2010 NBA draft.
Sports Illustrated‘s Michael Rosenberg has a take on the NBA-mandated one-and-done phenomenon.
Frank Murtaugh’s got some thoughts over at the Flyer’s newest blog, Tiger Blue, about all things U of M sports-related. Check it out.
With Opening Night merely a day away, it’s hard not to look ahead 12 months and imagine the team Josh Pastner will likely send to the floor as a 33-year-old, second-year coach. With the signing of local stars Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford now official and the surprising addition of forward Hippolyte Tsafack — never hurts to tap Cameroon for overlooked talent — the Tigers have a recruiting class that could fill the starting lineup in 2010-11. (Brothers Will and Antonio Barton would fill out the Fab Five.)
Presuming Elliot Williams and Wesley Witherspoon return for their junior seasons, and with some development from raw big man Will Coleman, it’s hard not to consider next year’s Tigers candidates for the nation’s Top 20, if not the Top 10. Needless to say, the 2010 class will be the finest bunch to arrive at FedExForum since 2005, when Shawne Williams, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson, and Robert Dozier first suited up. And consider this: that 2005 bunch was Calipari’s fifth class of recruits at the U of M. Pastner may come close to matching it with his very first. (On the subject of Calipari, presuming John Wall and Xavier Henry — recruits lost to Memphis when the coach departed for Kentucky — play one season of college ball, could the Tigers be in any better position for 2010-11 with Calipari still in charge? I don’t think so.)
Enough about 2010-11, though (for now). FEF will be packed Friday night to see this year’s squad. Nothing like an exciting future to boost the buzz.
Let me be the first to welcome you to Tiger Blue, our new blog devoted to University of Memphis sports. Having just celebrated the Flyer’s 20th anniversary — and with the spirit of former editor and sportswriter supreme Dennis Freeland alive and well — the time seems perfect for us to launch an interactive resource for Tiger Nation. The views, opinions, thoughts, and ramblings you find here should contribute to what remains this community’s most unifying chatter. Did you see the Tigers last night? How about that new signing! Can you believe they call that a passing game? Don’t you miss John Calipari? (Kidding on that last one. I think.)
With the dawn of the Josh Pastner Era upon us, and what we’d like to call the dawn of something — anything — in the U of M football program, Tiger Blue’s entry into the conversation seems appropriate. Be sure and let us know your own views, opinions, and thoughts as the seasons play on. (You can leave the rambling to us.)
And thanks for reading.