Kevin Lipe broaches a subject that would have been unthinkable four months ago: Is Tony Allen expendable?
Categories
Month: January 2014
- JB
- Keynoter Dick Enberg (second from right) at Memphis Rotary Club’s Sunday night kickoff of this week’s “big club” national conference at The Peabody. Here with (l to r) Rotary program chairman Pierre Landaiche, club president Berje Yacoubian, and Gay Landaiche.
The Memphis Rotary Club is playing host this week to a “big club” conference of fellow
Rotary clubs from throughout the nation. Representatives of major urban areas, north, south, east, and west were on hand beginning Sunday night, with a keynote address by sports broadcasting legend Dick Enberg.
Enberg, whose career of 50-plus years has allowed him to cover major sporting events of various kinds — football, baseball, tennis, what-have-you — for several national networks, regaled the Rotarians with first-hand anecdotes about such legendary figures as Ted Williams, John McEnroe, and John Wooden, citing the renowned late UCLA basketball mentor in particular as a role model in line with the official Rotary slogan of “Service above Self.”
The conference which has involved excursions by visiting Rotarians to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Beale Street, and other local landmarks, as well as an in-depth look at the local club’s “Stop Hunger Now” project in action, also includes a Tuesday luncheon in The Peabody’s Continental Ballroom.
Scheduled speaker for the luncheon was Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, concerning the life and death of the woman whose preserved cancer cells continue to loom large in medical experimentation.
The conference will formally end with a breakfast at The Peabody on Wednesday morning.
- Beale Street Merchants Association
Any doubt that company officials want to move the Hard Rock Cafe west on Beale Street to the Lansky Bros. building were all but erased with a building permit filed Monday.
A $2.5 million permit was pulled from the city of Memphis for renovations and remodeling to the interior and exterior of the building at 126 Beale. The spot is known to most simply as “the Lansky Bros. building” and was last the home of E.P.’s Delta Kitchen & Bar, which closed in 2008.
The permit names Belz Enterprises as the owner of the building and the tenant as Hard Rock Cafe International.
Memphis architects Hnedak Bobo Group will design the new space, according to the permit. W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co. will build the new restaurant, bar, and rock and roll memorabilia showplace.
News of the move excited the Memphis press two weeks ago. Reporters had confirmed the news through Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s office and through former Beale Street manager John Elkington. Monday’s building permit is the first confirmation of the planned move by company officials.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Is Tony Allen going to step right back into his old role when he returns from injury?
The Tony Allen Problem
While the Grizzlies have been re-finding their grove since regaining Marc Gasol from injury, there’s been one important player sidelined by an injury with no return timetable: Defensive mastermind and Lord of Basketball Chaos Tony Allen.
When Allen first went down, the word was that he suffered a “ligament injury” in his hand—one in which the ligament pulled away from the bone and pulled a bone fragment away with it. The timetable given then was “two to three weeks.” That was January 7, and three weeks from the 7th is… today.
One thing is for certain: when Allen comes back, he comes back to a team that has flourished with Courtney Lee starting in his spot. Since coming to the Grizzlies from the Celtics in exchange for Jerryd Bayless, Lee has proven himself to be an excellent shooter and a solid defender, and while he’s not the world class stopper that Allen is, the truth is that Allen hasn’t really played up to his normal standard for much of this year, presumably because he’s been fighting through so many injuries (you may remember that he missed several games in an earlier stretch due to a thigh contusion suffered in a December win over the Phoenix Suns).
The Grizzlies have an awful lot of wing players now, and they all seem to have overlapping skill sets: Lee, Allen, Jamaal Franklin, Quincy Pondexter, James Johnson, and Tayshaun Prince. They don’t all do the same things, but each of them has something in common with the others. It’s a bit of a logjam at the 2 and 3 spots when everyone is healthy.
[jump]
When Allen returns, will he slot right back into his starting role alongside Tayshaun Prince, even though the Conley/Allen/Prince/Z-Bo/Gasol starting lineup was dreadful offensively in the first part of the year? If Dave Joerger decides that Lee plays better with the starters, will Allen accept a bench role even if his minutes are the same? Is right now the time to sell high on Tony Allen and flip him to a contender for a young asset, before he ages and his freaky defensive prowess and unbelievable athleticism begin to taper off more quickly? When he comes back, will he be more like last year’s Tony Allen or more like this year’s, playing more offense and failing to cover spot-up shooters on defense?
All of those questions have been floating around on the blogs (like here and here) for the last couple of weeks, but one has to assume they’re floating around in the minds of the front office, too. For what it’s worth, I don’t see Allen accepting a bench role—I just don’t. I think if he’s not going to be the starter here, he’s going to have to be dealt, and I think that would be bad for the locker room in the short term and, if Courtney Lee can keep up his current level of play, probably good for the win/loss record in the long run (that is, if Allen isn’t going to be the starter).
Steve Danziger of 3 Shades of Blue had a great breakdown of two-man wing lineups last week, if you want to see the data on how these 2/3 combinations are working. If you think I’m crazy for suggesting Lee could remain the starter when Allen returns, look at those numbers and get back to me.
No matter what happens with Allen, it’s going to be interesting to watch, especially as the trade deadline approaches like a freight train.
Tonight: Grizzlies at Trail Blazers
Tonight the Grizzlies are in Portland to take on one of the (surprise) best teams in the league: the 33-12 Trail Blazers. The Grizzlies and Blazers haven’t played each other yet this year, and Portland is always a tough place to play, but the Griz have one major thing on their side: the momentum and confidence earned by sweeping the home-and-home with the Rockets over the weekend. The Griz have played better on the road all year, and one hopes that a quick journey up to Z-Bo’s old stomping grounds while riding high on Friday and Saturday’s wins will mean that the Grizzlies can steal one on the road.
It may not be that easy, though. The Grizzlies’ defense has greatly improved as of late, but the Blazers are leading the league in both points per game (109.0) and offensive efficiency, or points per 100 possessions (113.6). They play at the 10th-fastest pace in the league, as well.
Fortunately for the Grizzlies, Portland’s defense isn’t great. They average giving up 103.5 points per game. But if the Grizzlies’ defense can’t clamp down on LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard, Wes Matthews, and the rest of Portland’s offensive threats, it’s going to be a long night. (It’s going to be a long night anyway, as the game doesn’t tip until 9PM Memphis time.)
Winning tonight’s game would be a great tone-setter for the rest of the week, which sees the Grizzlies playing four games in five nights (a FOGAFINI, remember?) against mostly sub-par opponents (Sacramento, Minnesota, and Milwaukee). If they lose tonight, one would like to see them win the next three in a row. If they can steal this one, though, they’re essentially playing with house money the next three nights—the pressure is off to win them all so as not to lose any ground in the playoff race. (Obviously they should still win them all, but… you see what I’m saying.)
Categories
A Mayoral Donnybrook?
As the filing date of February 20 for countywide offices approaches, it begins to appear that the Democratic primary for Shelby County Mayor, among other offices, could be a highly competitive affair,
Some name politicians are among those who have drawn petitions to compete in the May 6 Democratic primary for the right to oppose incumbent Republican mayor Mark Luttrell. Former Shelby County Commissioner Deidre Malone has long had her hat in the ring. But she has been joined of late by such petition-pullers as County Commission chairman James Harvey and former (and possibly future) Shelby County Schools board member Kenneth Whalum Jr.
Not to be too coy about it, a line-up of such prominent African-American Democrats increases prospects for an entry by Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy, especially inasmuch as Mulroy has himself received private commitments of support from significant black political figures.
The term-limited Democratic commissioner, a law professor at the University of Memphis, has focused of late on applying for open federal and state judgeships but has long considered the possibility of running for county mayor.
Another spirited race is developing in new Commission District 9 between incumbent Commissioner Justin Ford and three Democrats with public names of their own — former School Board member Patrice Robinson, current Memphis Education Association president Keith Williams, and veteran educator and frequent candidate James O. Catchings.
The new Commission format of 13 single districts will undoubtedly result in a series of highly contested races, on both the Democratic and the Republican sides of the ledger. Watch this space. –
Categories
Problems at the Jail
Toby Sells reports on recent problems with staffing and violence at the Shelby County Jail.
Categories
Donut Hutt’s Croughnut
New York City baker, Dominique Ansel, ignited a craze over his croissant-donut fusion this past May, which the chef trademarked the “Cronut.”
With people willing to wait in line for hours and scalpers selling the baked good like a pair of Yankees tickets, Ansel’s sweet treat received enough hype to warrant TIME Magazine to list the Cronut as one of The 25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013.
Due to the trademark, legally speaking the Cronut only exists in New York, but that has not dissuaded cooks throughout the world from trying to master their own versions of the pastry crossover, including one local Mid-South business.
Rick Brenneman and his wife Jennifer purchased the Donut Hutt (formerly Oh Susanna’s) in Collierville this past summer and began to sell the croissant-donut, “Croughnut,” the first of this year.
“Whether it is an imitation of the real thing or a facsimile,” he said. “Just like the first person that ever made lasagna, it follows suit. After a while everybody starts making it and putting their own take on it, their own little twist.”
The donut hybrid sells out every week and Brenneman said people have called the Donut Hutt from 45 minutes away and asked him to save a few. Besides the taste, Brenneman said he attributes the pastry’s popularity to its mystique.
A mystique created by the multi-day preparation and baking process, which makes them both a challenge to perfect and a scarce commodity to find.
Offered only on Saturdays, Brenneman bakes two to three dozen of the croissant-donuts, which are sold for $2.75 and limited two per customer. Flavors include: glazed, caramel chocolate, and chocolate with ultra light pastry crème.
“It takes me about the same amount of time to make those (croissant-donuts) as I can make probably 40 dozen donuts,” Brenneman said. “It’s time consuming and they tend to be a little temperamental so it takes all of my concentration to get them done.”
Local Collierville resident, Jessica Ballard, a regular at the bakery, said she had never heard of a croissant-donut prior to seeing them in the Donut Hutt, but after trying one, said they were “absolutely delicious.”
“It is very different from your average donut and it is just very rich and has lots of flavor,” she said. “The mix of the dough and the pastry, I mean it’s just awesome.”
With a distinct crunch on the outside and unmistakable moistness on the inside, it is hard to resist eating this breakfast delicacy layer-by-doughy-layer.
The Donut Hutt is located at 1016 W. Poplar Ave. Suite 111, and is open Tuesday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Rarely do you come into a donut shop and leave mad,” Brenneman said. “That is a wonderful thing about this business.”
Categories
The Hold Steady Kick Off in Memphis
Greg Akers interviews the Hold Steady on the eve of their new tour, which begins in Memphis on Wednesday.
This February, Memphis will see the return of gallerist, art consultant, and painter Jay Etkin. Etkin previously operated first-of-their-kind galleries in the Cooper-Young and South Main neighborhoods. His South Main gallery closed in 2008, and Etkin relocated from Memphis to Santa Fe. After six years away, Etkin will re-enter the Memphis art scene by opening another Cooper-Young space, at 942 S. Cooper, only a stone’s throw away from the location of his first Memphis gallery.
The new Jay Etkin Gallery is an old storefront space (formerly an overstuffed odds-and-ends shop) incarnated into a large, track-lit white room. Floating display walls are buttressed by steel columns. Etkin worked collaboratively with architect Jeff Blackledge to leave parts of the building’s original structure revealed: cement floors and wooden rafters provide some context for the white box gallery space.
[jump]
Says Etkin, “I didn’t seek out Cooper-Young until I knew there was an available space. But as soon as I heard that this place was available, I said, ‘Hold the space for me!’ It had my look.”
Etkin’s new gallery is slightly smaller that his South Main space, but it has a characteristically “open around the edges” feel. It is easy to imagine the new gallery as a home for the sort of traditional abstract work that Etkin has shown in the past.
The gallerist says that he envisions this new space as an ideal place for group shows. He hopes to be able to give emerging Memphis artists gallery representation and more exposure to potential buyers. He sees the gallery as ideal for multimedia work, and wants to host dance, music and theater performances alongside fine art shows.
In a city with relatively few galleries (and particularly few galleries designed to represent and sell for artists), Etkin’s presence will certainly be felt. This new gallery offers something slightly different than any other arts venue in Memphis: a commercial space with an eye towards collaborative and multidisciplinary work.
The gallery will open sometime in late February with work by several veteran Etkin-represented artists, including Roy Tamboli, Pam Cobb and Marc Rouillard.
Categories
The Flyer’s “20<30" Party
Enjoy the photos of all the bright young folks who gathered for the Flyer’s “20<30" Party.