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Month: February 2010
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Memphis Tigers vs. SMU (FEF, 7 pm)
• Tonight’s game will be the Tigers’ first rematch of the season. SMU beat the U of M on January 30th in Dallas, the most damaging loss of the season for the Tigers. In that game, the Tigers managed to take 14 more shots than the Mustangs and still lose, 70-60. (Memphis led by five at halftime.) The Tigers shot only 34 percent from the field, with half their attempts coming from three-point range. SMU won the game at the free-throw line, making 33 of 38 (compared with the Tigers hitting 12 of 19 from the charity stripe). Wesley Witherspoon was held to five points in 28 minutes and Will Coleman was a nonfactor (no points and four rebounds in 17 minutes of play). The Mustangs were led by Papa Dia (23 points, 14 rebounds) and Derek Williams (25 points, 14 of 15 from the line). The win was SMU’s first in eight games against the Tigers as Conference USA rivals.
• SMU has already exceeded last season’s win total in C-USA play. The Mustangs are 5-6 entering tonight’s game, having gone 3-13 in 2008-09. Overall, Southern Methodist is 12-13, an improvement on last year’s 9-21 mark. Their biggest win to date? You guessed it: January 30th.
• A win tonight would be the Tigers’ 20th of the season, and make this the 10th straight season with at least 20 victories for the U of M. The only stretch of Tiger history that approximates this run is the eight-year period from 1981-82 to 1988-89.
• With two conference losses, the Tigers are only one game behind C-USA front-runner UTEP. (The Miners play at Tulsa this afternoon.) The goal remains to win a fifth straight C-USA regular-season title. After that, Memphis wants to protect its position among the league’s top four, which would secure a bye in next month’s conference tourney. Tulsa and Marshall are essentially tied for fourth place now, with four losses in league play.
• For the better part of three months, I’ve been wondering where the 2009-10 Tigers would be without Duke transfer (and native Memphian) Elliot Williams. We may just get an answer of sorts Saturday night, as Williams will be a game-day decision, having bruised his right knee in the win over Tulane Wednesday night. Should Williams have to sit, look for D.J. Stephens and Drew Barham to absorb his minutes. Best-case scenario would be for Williams to start, help the Tigers to a comfortable lead, and take a seat for most of the second half.
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The Hair, the Stare, and the Scream
- Sam Querrey
It’s the little things that separate the champions from the also-rans.
For Maria Sharapova, it’s a pre-serve ritual involving her hair, a stare, two bounces of the ball, and a scream. She hasn’t lost a set on her way to Saturday’s finals in the Cellular South Cup.
For Andy Roddick, the difference between beating Sam Querrey last week and losing to him Friday night in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships was a double fault, a missed forehand, a close line call, and a smashed racquet in the second game of the third set. He was serving at the time and blew a 40-15 lead. Five games later he was whipped.
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The Dude Abides
Spotted this drink-specials card at lunch today at the Blue Monkey downtown.
WTH?, I thought. Turns out, Caucasian is also known as a White Russian. And … the Dude of The Big Lebowski uses the two names interchangeably.
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On Reinventing Government
Don’t ask someone who has been laid off, robbed, can’t pay the house note, recently waited in line to get their car inspected, or didn’t get their trash picked up last month to worry much about the face of government two or three years from now.
This is the problem with reinventing city and county government. Most of us have more immediate concerns.
The county charter commission is in the early stages of its labors. Reinventing government could be a good idea. Or it could be a way of diverting time and leadership from more pressing, fixable problems. A way of doing something without doing anything.
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Folk Alliance, Day 2
The 2010 Folk Alliance Conference is in town this weekend. Some of the best parts of this event are closed to the general public but here’s a peek at what’s happening at the Downtown Marriott.
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MemShelvis? We Need a New Name
Mary Cashiola reports on the name game for a potential Memphis-Shelby County combined government.
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Opening Day at FedExPark!
I can’t wait to check out the Tigers’ new baseball stadium, FedExPark. (A family commitment is keeping me from today’s lid-lifter against Middle Tennessee at 4:00.) Coach Daron Schoenrock’s club will be playing in a facility that just underwent its largest redesign since opening in 1972. A new locker room, indoor practice facility, dugouts, grandstand, press box and private suite were all paid for with a $3 million contribution from FedEx (thus the name of the stadium). The outfield dimensions, it should be noted, are the same as they were at Nat Buring Stadium (379 feet to centerfield, 318 down the lines).
- Tiger baseball coach Daron Schoenrock
The Tigers are coming off a 21-32 season, one in which they were a team without a home, hosting visitors at USA Stadium (in Millington), Gagliano Stadium, and AutoZone Park. A pair of sophomores are worth watching this season. Outfielder Drew Martinez (.309 last year) and infielder Adam McClain (.288) were each named to Conference USA’s All-Freshman team for 2009.
The Tigers will host MTSU again Saturday (2 pm) and Sunday (1 pm).
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Name The City
The Metro Charter Commission is enlisting LaunchMemphis — and local citizens — to help it fulfill one of its most important responsibilities: figuring out what the new consolidated government would be called.
The commission hopes to set up a way to get citizen suggestions by next week and plans to keep the process open for two to three weeks.
I, personally, think the choice is clear.
Following the example of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt — a.k.a. Brangelina — I think we have to go with Memphishelby.
In all seriousness, there are statutory limitations on the name of the new government. It has to be either the Memphis Metropolitan government, Shelby Metropolitan government, Memphis Shelby Metropolitan government, or something the commission deems historically or geographically appropriate.
At a meeting last night, metro charter commission members acknowledged that the choice was limited, but said the naming contest would help build citizen awareness about the charter commission is and what they are doing.
But when you think about it, it’s not that limited. There are all sorts of things we could go with.
There’s Wolf River Metro. Or, better yet, the Wolf Metro.
If we became the Wolf Metro area, there’s no way citizens could suffer from all those feelings of inadequacy they do as Memphians. We would be Wolfians. Plus, when Forbes publishes its their most miserable places, no one would know where Wolf was. But it would sound badass.
We could acknowledge the way the world is going — corporate citizens, anyone? — and, as a nod to it, choose something such as FedExia.
Gracelandland?
Shelvis? (Bianca Phillips gave me this one. Just for the record.)
Just think of all the rebranding possibilities.
Thursday’s open rehersal didn’t attract a huge crowd but a handful of mid-day visitors to the Lowenstein building got a fun preview of Ballet Memphis’ AbunDANCE: Joyful Noise, which opens next weekend at Playhouse on the Square.