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Month: October 2010
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Griz Top Timberwolves, 109-89
Chris Herrington has a report on the Grizzlies’ victory over Minnesota Saturday night.
The Lead: Even when the Grizzlies were a three-time playoff team, you rarely got the sense that the team had won a game through sheer talent disparity. But that was the case tonight. Even without Zach Randolph and on the night after a draining road victory against the Dallas Mavericks, the Grizzlies simply overwhelmed the Minnesota Timberwolves to start this game. With clear talent advantage at four of five positions (Kevin Love/Darrell Arthur the exception), the Grizzlies jumped out to a 25-5 lead eight minutes into the game, every point coming from the paint, the free-throw line, or beyond the arc.
Whenever the team’s core starters were on the floor and decided to focus, the Grizzlies hammered the Wolves tonight. Look at these plus/minus numbers for the game: Rudy Gay (+30), Marc Gasol (+31), O.J. Mayo (+26), Mike Conley (+27).
The downside was that the team, never really feeling threatened, seemed to grow complacent whenever the lead would grow close to 20. After that 25-5 start, the Wolves went on a 7-0 run to cut it to 13, rookie Nikola Pekovic doing most of the damage. The lead seesawed between 10 and 17 most the rest of the way. The Grizzlies didn’t get up to +20 again until midway through the fourth quarter, when they finally put the game away. A byproduct of allowing the Wolves a sliver of hope most of the game and still — especially with Arthur in the starting lineup — searching for consistent help off the bench was that the starters played an awful lot of minutes for a home “blowout” over a bad team: Gay played 44 minutes (after playing 44 against Dallas the previous night), Mayo 40, Conley 38. And after playing only 10 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Gasol played 21 straight in the second half.
A statistical indicator that the team probably got a little too comfortable tonight: The Grizzlies had more three-point attempts (20, although they did make 8 of them) than free-throw attempts (18). Did that ever happen last season?
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Houston 56, Tigers 17
So much for the value of a bye week. With two weeks to prepare for tonight’s homecoming tilt with Houston, the Tigers showed some promise — at least in game plan — in the first quarter. Emphasizing the run (14 of their first 17 plays were on the ground), Memphis held the ball for 11:36 of the first quarter, keeping Conference USA’s second-leading offense on the sideline for extended stretches.
So much for the value of ball control, too. The Cougars led, 7-3, after the game’s first 15 minutes. Before the second quarter was halfway finished, the rout was on.
The loss drops Memphis to 1-7 and was the sixth time in eight games the Tigers have given up at least 41 points. Yet this may have been the U of M defense’s weakest performance to date. Houston scored touchdowns on seven consecutive possessions and did not punt the entire game. The Cougar offense accumulated 37 first downs (the previous high against Memphis was 28) and 651 yards (previous high was 574). Quarterback David Piland completed 20 of 23 passes for 292 yards and five touchdowns, doing a Case Keenum impression that would impress the most jaded of injured Heisman Trophy candidates. Michael Hayes rushed for 123 yards to lead Houston and Patrick Edwards scored three touchdowns (two on pass receptions, one on a 74-yard punt return).
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Houston’s Patrick Edwards scored three touchdowns.
“After two weeks, we expected to play better than we did,” said coach Larry Porter after the game. “It’s also become obvious that our biggest battle is amongst ourselves. Defensively, we didn’t stop them enough to give ourselves a chance to get something going offensively. We did some good things the first couple of drives, but then we stalled. Their speed was a big issue, and we didn’t tackle as well as I’d have liked.”
Greg Ray was a light in the darkness for the U of M, rushing for a career-high 176 yards on 23 carries. Starting quarterback Ryan Williams completed only two of seven passes for 27 yards. Cannon Smith wasn’t much better, connecting on two of five tosses and throwing an interception (the Tigers’ only turnover of the game). Smith scored on a keeper for the Tigers’ final points midway through the fourth quarter.
Despite losing Keenum — the reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Year — in their third game of the season, the Cougars find themselves atop the league’s West Division with a record of 4-1 (tied with SMU). Tonight’s game marked the fifth time this season Houston has topped 40 points. (Their game at 4-0 UCF next Friday will be among the top battles in C-USA this season.) “It was their speed,” acknowledged Porter. “It was like we were stuck in mud. They were running by us, left and right. I knew they had really good team speed.”
With Tennessee (2-6 after losing to South Carolina today) coming to the Liberty Bowl next Saturday, Porter addressed the season-long goal of finding players capable of moving the ball down field. “We’ve got to find some balance, and some ways to move the ball offensively,” he said. When asked about any potential controversy over his quarterback position, Porter was succinct: “It’s more about what we’re doing right now than who’s doing it.”
With their seventh loss of the season, the Tigers are officially eliminated from bowl contention.
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Fright night on Beale
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Get Shipwrecked This Halloween
Everybody who’s anybody* will be at the Friends for Life Halloween bash on Saturday, Oct. 30th. Friends for Life’s annual party has gained a reputation as the largest, see-and-be-seen Samhain shindig in town.
This year’s theme is “Shipwrecked” so expect to see plenty of pirates, mermaids, and other sea-faring characters. Dress your best because there’s a cash prize costume contest. DJ Steve Anne will provide the tunes, and there will be plenty of food and drink.
The event kicks off at Bridges at 8 p.m. and runs late into the night. Tickets are $45 at the door. Funds raised go toward Friends for Life’s comprehensive and client-centered services for people living with HIV/AIDS. For more information, go to the Friends for Life website.
* Except for me. I am somebody, but unfortunately, I won’t be at the Friends for Life party this year. I’ve signed up to judge the Monster Ball costume contest at Push Night Club at Horseshoe Casino. If you’ll be in Tunica on Saturday night, drop by the ball. It kicks off at 10 p.m. with a $10 cover. The first place winner of the costume contest wins $1,000.
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“Howl”: Better Than a Poetry Reading?
The life of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg is interwoven with a reading of his most famous poem, Howl, in the movie of the same name. Should you see it?
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Pssst…Free Tunes:
Today only, The Gunslingers’ self-titled album is available for a free download in its entirety. Trust me on this one – you won’t want to miss out.
Few recent developments on the local theater scene make me happer than knowing that Terry Scott is directing again. Scott, a provocative artist with a taste for classics, had an incredibly fertile period in the late 80’s and early 90’s performing in shows like Six Characters in Search of an Author and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. He was also directing, designing, and even composing a bit of music now and again, when the need arose. Then one day he left the theatre, became a family man, went to law school, and started playing guitar for The Bouffants. Now he’s back behind the scenes directing Agatha Christie’s country house mystery The Hollow for Germantown Community Theatre.
Intermission Impossible: You used to direct quite a bit but then you took a long hiatus while raising your family. What made you want to start directing again?
Terry Scott: I did not stop directing to raise my family. I became involved with The Bouffants, and the success of that band made it difficult to commit to a directing gig. Additionally, I found the rush of performing with the band to be a superior high to the rush of watching a polite audience applaud (politely) during a theatrical production. In the end, I found that I missed the directorial process.
Intermission Impossible: Obviously GCT chose The Hollow—an Agatha Christie— because people love stories about horror and suspense, especially around Halloween. What, in your opinion, is the most terrifying, gruesome, or suspenseful moment in The Hollow?
Terry Scott: For me, the most suspenseful moment occurs when Gerda decides to drink the drink—you’ll have to come to the show to find out what that means.
Intermission Impossible: You’ve cast your wife Christina. How does that work? Does rehearsal stay in the theater or does it follow you home?
Terry Scott: Are you trying to get me in trouble?
Intermission Impossible: Yes, it’s what I do.
Terry Scott: Kidding. Of course it follows us home. Christina is my confidante and she has a keen sense of what makes a scene work; we act as a sounding board for each other. We come home from rehearsal and stand around in the kitchen trying to solve this problem or that—I hope to work with her more often.
The Hollow is at GCT through November 7.