Month: November 2019

Three Thoughts on Tiger Football

Post author By Frank Murtaugh
Post date November 4, 2019

CREDIT: Larry Kuznieski

• Best morning in the history of Memphis sports.
The party Memphis threw for ESPN’s College GameDay crew as the sun rose over Beale Street Saturday morning is one helluva metaphor. Both for local sports fandom and the larger Memphis community. The images broadcast nationally via the overhead cameras (and Goodyear Blimp) made the throng of Tiger fans look like a blue-clad force of nature. And it was entirely about the crowd. This was the inverse of typical sporting events: Stars attended to be near the fans. Penny Hardaway, Jarren Jackson, Ja Morant, Jerry Lawler, and even U of M football coach Mike Norvell himself (the one man most responsible for the event) made appearances, but the “star” was that crowd. However clever the signs may have been — and they were plenty clever, even Lee Corso with a grill — the message was larger, and on a scale I’m not convinced any Memphis team has achieved before. We are Memphis football, and we are extraordinary.
Larry Kuznieski

Based on comments from Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, and Kirk Herbstreit — both during the broadcast and via social media — ESPN was thoroughly impressed with the Memphis delivery. During his press conference after Saturday night’s win, Norvell said, “We’ll invite them back next year.” And that’s the beautiful twist: The biggest traveling show in college football may well be back in the near future, guests in a football city few would recognize a generation ago.

• “This system is designed for playmakers.”
Norvell has been saying a version of this since he took over the Tiger program before the 2016 season. Patrick Taylor missed his eighth straight game Saturday night. His sublime replacement, Kenneth Gainwell, failed to top 100 yards rushing for the first time in two months. So onto the brightest of stages steps senior wide receiver Antonio Gibson. The senior scored touchdowns on a 50-yard reception, a 97-yard kickoff return (to open the second half), and a 78-yard run on his way to setting a new Tiger record with 386 all-purpose yards. Gibson, mind you, had 99 all-purpose yards for the entire 2018 season. If College GameDay was a three-hour infomercial for Memphis football and its arrival, the win Saturday night will be an invaluable recruiting tool for Norvell and his staff. Two years after suiting up for East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi, Antonio Gibson was the best college football player in the country on the biggest night in Memphis football history. He was, indeed, a playmaker.

• I saw a man flip-tackled by his facemask without a penalty called.
It turns out the strongest part of Gainwell’s body isn’t his legs or arms, but his neck. When SMU linebacker Richard McBryde took him down like a rodeo steer in the second half, he did so directly in front of referee Adam Savoie, yet no flag was thrown. What if Gainwell hadn’t jumped to his feet? Just as egregious, a second-half SMU punt was almost downed inside the Tiger five-yard line, but caromed off the hand of a Mustang player into the end zone for a touchback . . . until officials ruled the player had “control” of the ball at the two-yard line. What if the Tigers hadn’t responded with a 98-yard touchdown drive?

These two face-plants by the American Athletic Conference officiating crew went against the team that won the game, so there’s an inclination to forget and forgive. But consider how close Saturday’s game was. Consider the stakes: at least a berth in the AAC championship game, and perhaps a berth in a New Year’s Six bowl game. On an otherwise glorious night for his league — in front of a national audience in prime time — AAC commissioner Mike Aresco witnessed an embarrassing display of officiating. This was not a crew allergic to yellow laundry. A total of 27 penalties were assessed in the game. If a defensive back so much as looked at an intended receiver, pass interference was likely. Yet (at least) two major calls were missed. Savoie’s crew should be penalized, with no assignment the remainder of the season for a game that could impact the AAC championship. The Tigers overcame two opponents in front of those ABC cameras. If the AAC wants to be “Power 6,” games must be decided strictly by the players.

Tags Game Day, Memphis Tigers, Mike Norvell, SMU

Sports Tiger Blue

#24 Tigers 54, #15 SMU 48

Post author By Frank Murtaugh
Post date November 4, 2019

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Perhaps the greatest day in University of Memphis football history was clinched when Lee Corso put on a giant Mustang head. The colorful ESPN College GameDay analyst teased a throng of Tiger fans on Beale Street this morning with the home team’s mascot head, only to don the jet-black pony for his official prediction of Saturday night’s winner. All a lubed and loaded Memphis football community needed was another ounce of motivation.
Larry Kuzniewski

Antonio Gibson

In front of 59,506 fans and a national, prime-time audience (courtesy of ABC), Memphis handed SMU (8-1) its first loss of the season, improved to 8-1 overall, and took over first place in the American Athletic Conference’s West Division. Senior Antonio Gibson established a new Tiger record with 386 all-purpose yards in the contest, scoring touchdowns via rush, pass, and kickoff return. But the Tiger win remained insecure until sophomore Preston Brady — the team’s reserve long-snapper and a product of Evangelical Christian School — recovered an onside kick with two minutes left to play (and SMU out of timeouts). With the nation’s top three teams all idle (for the first time in 23 years), Memphis football seized this weekend’s national spotlight and made it distinctly blue and gray.

“This stage, this moment, this opportunity,” noted Tiger coach Mike Norvell in opening his postgame press conference. “They came out and played with everything they had against a really good football team. Momentum swings. Highs and lows. But there was a great response from the Memphis Tigers. Memphis had an opportunity to be showcased today. Much like this football team, it rose to the occasion. I’m so grateful and honored to be a Memphian. This is a very special city. The country got to see the passion, the love for this university. The electric atmosphere we had . . . it was a special day.”

The 102 combined points surprised no one, these two teams both ranking among the nation’s top ten in scoring. But the Mustangs and Tigers managed to accumulate 1,067 yards on 151 plays without committing a single turnover. The Tigers were bitten by 16 penalties (too many of them pass interference), and snuffed on four consecutive plays inside the Mustang 5-yard line on their first possession (after a replay review negated a Gibson touchdown). After that initial rejection, though, Memphis scored on eight consecutive possessions, four of them field goals by junior Riley Patterson (one from 49 yards and another from 50). Tiger quarterback Brady White was brilliant, completing 19 of 33 passes and tossing three touchdowns, one of them an NFL-ready connection with Damonte Coxie from 24 yards late in the third quarter that called to mind another Brady, one who has spent some time with the New England Patriots.

“We knew this was our opportunity,” said Norvell. “This was our moment. A lot of people were surprised. We were honored to be selected by GameDay. I took the guys down to see it yesterday. It’s a big thing. You want respect, you have to go take it. You have to earn it. They were ready to play. I was really proud of how they executed.”

Memphis took its first lead (10-7) on a 30-yard Patterson field goal early in the second quarter. SMU regained the lead (14-10) on a two-yard run by Xavier Jones 3:30 into the second quarter, but the Tigers answered, first with another Patterson field goal (from 49 yards), then with Gibson’s first touchdown, a 50-yard connection from Brady. Memphis never again relinquished the advantage, stretching its lead to 16 points (40-24), the highlight being Gibson’s 97-yard kickoff return to open the third quarter. SMU scored two touchdowns inside the game’s final nine minutes, but devoid of timeouts, wasn’t able to gain possession for a final, game-changing drive.

“We’re going to enjoy this, but we didn’t play a perfect game,” said Norvell. “Mistakes were made. Sixteen penalties . . . I’m not very happy about that. We need to get those things corrected. It’s a new day, a new opportunity. But we’ll enjoy tonight and tomorrow.”

SMU quarterback Shane Buechele — a candidate for AAC Player of the Year — completed 34 of 54 passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns. James Proche caught 13 passes for 149 yards and Rashee Rice added 122 yards on seven grabs.
Larry Kuzniewski

Brady White

Freshman running back Kenneth Gainwell was limited to less than 100 yards rushing for the first time in seven games (88 yards on 21 carries), though both Coxie (143 yards on seven catches) and Gibson (130 on six) surpassed 100 receiving.

White has now thrown 23 touchdown passes for the season with only four interceptions. “I’m so proud to be here,” he said. “It’s a big deal when we run out of the tunnel and see [the stadium] packed. It’s like a kid in a candy store. We appreciate every Memphian who showed up and showed out. We were full of energy and excitement. With the stage we had, we knew a sense of urgency. It’s a special platform. College GameDay isn’t going everywhere every week. We took advantage of it and put our best foot forward. We fed off the energy.”

Now 4-1 in AAC play, the Tigers have an off week before playing their next two games on the road, starting at Houston (3-6) on November 16th. But don’t tell Gibson it’s time for these Tigers — climbing the national rankings — to take a breather. “A bye week really isn’t a bye week for us,” said Gibson. “We’ll keep working for whoever we have next.”

Tags Memphis 54 SMU 48

Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway

Post author By Chris McCoy
Post date November 3, 2019

Shannon Walton in Sweet Knives video for ‘I Don’t Wanna Die’

You’re going to be hard pressed to see everything great on Indie Memphis Sunday, so some triage is in order. We’re here to help.

First thing in the morning is the Hometowner Rising Filmmaker Shorts bloc (11:00 a.m., Ballet Memphis), where you can see the latest in new Memphis talent, including “Ritual” by Juliet Mace and Maddie Dean, which features perhaps the most brutal audition process ever.

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway

The retrospective of producer/director Sara Driver’s work continues with her new documentary Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Micheal Basquiat (1:30 p.m., Studio on the Square). Driver was there in the early 80s when Basquiat was a rising star in the New York art scene, and she’s produced this look at the kid on his way to becoming a legend.

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway (2)

The companion piece to Driver’s latest is Downtown 81 (4:00 p.m., Hattiloo Theatre). Edo Bertoglio’s documentary gives a real-time look at the art and music scene built from the ashes of 70s New York that would go on to conquer the world. Look for a cameo from Memphis punk legend Tav Falco.

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You can see another Memphis legend in action in William Friedkin’s 1994 Blue Chips (4:00 p.m., Studio on the Square). Penny Hardaway, then a star recruit for the Memphis Tigers, appears as a star recruit for volatile college basketball coach Pete Bell, played by Nick Nolte. It’s the current University of Memphis Tigers basketball coach’s only big screen appearance to date, until someone makes a documentary about this hometown hero’s eventful life.

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The Ballet Memphis venue hosts two selections of Memphis filmmakers screening out of the competition at 1:50 and 7:00 p.m., continuing the unprecedentedly awesome run of Hometowner shorts this year. There are a lot of gems to be found here, such as Clint Till’s nursing home comedy “Hangry” and Garrett Atkinson and Dalton Sides’ “Interview With A Dead Man.” To give you a taste of the good stuff, here’s Munirah Safiyah Jones’ instant classic viral hit “Fuckboy Defense 101.”

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At 9:00 p.m., the festivities move over to Black Lodge in Crosstown for the Music Video Party. 44 music videos from all over the world will be featured on the Lodge’s three screens, including works by Memphis groups KadyRoxz, A Weirdo From Memphis, Al Kapone, Nick Black, Uriah Mitchell, Louise Page, Joe Restivo, Jana Jana, Javi, NOTS, Mark Edgar Stuart, Jeff Hulett, Stephen Chopek, and Impala. Director and editor Laura Jean Hocking has the most videos in the festival this year, with works for John Kilzer, Bruce Newman, and this one for Sweet Knives.

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If experimental horror and sci fi is more your speed, check out the Hometowner After Dark Shorts (9:30 p.m., Playhouse on the Square), which features Isaac M. Erickson’s paranoid thriller “Home Video 1997.”

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway (7)

Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Indie Memphis Day 4: The Beat Goes On

Post author By Chris McCoy
Post date November 2, 2019

Bakosó: AfroBeats of Cuba

On Saturday at Indie Memphis 2019, the focus turns outwards. The only Hometowner feature is the essential Memphis ’69 (2:00 p.m., Ballet Memphis) which I wrote about in this week’s cover story. (Although, if Indie Memphis were around in 1989, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train (6:30 p.m., Playhouse On The Square) would technically qualify for the Hometowner competition.)

Chyna Robinson’s No Ordinary Love has two screenings on Saturday — 10:30 a.m. at Hattiloo and 7:00 p.m. at Studio on the Square. I interviewed her for the cover story, and here’s a look at the film’s trailer:

Indie Memphis Day 4: The Beat Goes On

If you’re in the mood for some cartoons on Saturday morning (which I always am), trek down to Theaterworks for the Departures: Animated Shorts bloc, which includes Riley Thompson’s “When Planets Mate.”

Indie Memphis Day 4: The Beat Goes On (5)

After a Cat People screening at 11:00 a.m., the Sara Driver retrospective begins in earnest at 1:15 with her rarely seen 1986 feature Sleepwalk.

Sleepwalk

I have not seen Portrait of a Lady On Fire (3:30 p.m., Playhouse on the Square), but the name is amazing, and it certainly gives good trailer.

Indie Memphis Day 4: The Beat Goes On (6)

This is the second year Indie Memphis has given out an award for lifetime achievement in cinematography. This year’s recipient is Sean Price Williams, and you can see him in action with One Man Dies A Million Times (3:50 p.m., Studio on the Square).

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Music documentaries are always an Indie Memphis highlight. Bakosó: Afro Beats of Cuba by director Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi chronicles the fascinating and vibrant musical culture of our neighbor to the south.

Indie Memphis Day 4: The Beat Goes On (2)

Flint, Michigan has been in the news for mostly bad reasons in the past few years —the community still doesn’t have potable water! Directors Roni Moore and James Blagden went to Flint to find the humanity among the downtrodden. In Midnight In Paris, they go to the prom with the town’s teenagers.

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Speaking of teenagers, The World Is Full Of Secrets (9:30 p.m., Studio on the Square) is director Graham Swon’s charming tale of sleepover ghost stories and real life anxiety.

TRAILER: OFICIAL – The World is Full of Secrets from Novos Cinemas on Vimeo.

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Finally, a truly spooky midnight movie. The story of Kuroneko (11:40, Studio on the Square) comes from a Japanese folk tale of two women who were murdered by marauders during a civil war and return as ghosts who haunt a bamboo forest, seeking revenge. It’s another spooky pic by Sara Driver that will haunt your dreams on Saturday night.

Indie Memphis Day 4: The Beat Goes On (4)

Tags Chyna Robinson, Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi, Graham Swon, Indie Memphis, James Blagden, Riley Thompson, Roni Moore, Sara Driver, Sean Price William

News News Blog

Rhodes Gets Grant to Prevent, Respond to Sexual Assault, Other Crimes on Campus

Post author By Maya Smith
Post date November 1, 2019

CREDIT: Facebook/Rhodes College

Facebook/Rhodes College

Rhodes College received a $300,000 federal grant to enhance its prevention of and response to sexual assault and related crimes on campus, the school announced Friday.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will fund a coordinated effort to improve programs related to preventing and responding to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on campus.

Specifically, the funds will be used for five purposes.

• Rhodes will created a Coordinated Community Response Team to enhance the school;s response, prevention, and education related to the four crimes above. The team will review policies and procedures.

• In collaboration with the Shelby County Crime Victims and Rape Crisis Center (SCCVRCC), Rhodes plans to enhance its mandatory prevention program for incoming students and introduce ongoing trainings for returning students. The trainings will include a bystander intervention component, with a special emphasis on students who live on campus, belong to Greek organizations, or are students athletes.

• Rhodes will also implement new-hire and ongoing quarterly or semi-annual training for campus safety personnel, disciplinary boards, and faculty and staff. These trainings will also focus on Greek life, on-campus residencies, and athletics.

• The college will implement a total of five prevention campaigns on campus, again targeting those who live on campus, belong to Greek organizations, or are students athletes.

• Finally, Rhodes will hire a project coordinator to develop and manage the aforementioned programs

According to Rhodes’ 2019 Security and Fire Safety Report, the total number of sexual offenses on campus saw a dramatic decrease between 2016 and 2018. There were a total of 19 reported sexual offenses on campus in 2016. In 2017, that number dropped to four, and then rose to nine last year.

In 2018, the college had three instances of dating violence and four stalking incidents. In 2017, there were two cases of dating violence, and 1 stalking incident. The college had three cases of dating violence and two reported stalking incidents in 2016.

There were no reported cases of domestic violence in the last three years.

Tags crimes on campus, Rhodes, sexual assault, us-department-of-justice

Memphis Gaydar News

Rainbow Crosswalk Comes to Cooper-Young Saturday

Post author By Toby Sells
Post date November 1, 2019

CREDIT: Jerred Price/change.org

Jerred Price/change.org

Work begins Saturday on what project officials are calling “the state’s first rainbow crosswalk” in Cooper-Young.

A petition for the crosswalk, designed to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride, started in May by Jerred Price, who was then running for the Memphis City Council’s District 7 seat. After a series of meetings, the project was approved by the council in September.

Rainbow Crosswalk Comes to Cooper-Young Saturday (2)

In the original petition for the project, Price said among the neighborhood’s “quirky stores,” “artisanal coffee spots,” and “boisterous pubs” is “one thing you may not know about Cooper-Young.”

“…It has the highest density of LGBTQ+ people in the west portion of Tennessee!” reads the petition. “It is also home to OUTMemphis. Through their hard work and sacrifice, they built an ‘oasis in the desert of our struggle.'”

Work on the crosswalk begins Saturday morning. The crosswalk will be welcomed in a formal ceremony at the corner of Cooper and Young on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Rainbow Crosswalk Comes to Cooper-Young Saturday

“Come on down to the heart of Cooper-Young (home to the highest concentration of identifying same-sex households in the southeast United States!) and let’s make state history!” reads the Facebook event page. “Special guest speakers as well!”

Tags Cooper-Young, gay pride, Jerred Price, LGBTQ, rainbow crosswalks

Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Indie Memphis Day 3: Legends, Queens, and Sorcerer

Post author By Chris McCoy
Post date November 1, 2019

Varda by Agnes

Indie Memphis 2019 kicks into high gear on Friday with its first full day of films and events. The first screening of the day comes at 10:40 AM with the music documentary The Unicorn, director Tim Geraghty’s portrait of gay psychedelic country musician Peter Grudzien.

Indie Memphis Day 3: Legends, Queens, and Sorcerer

3:30 at Playhouse on the Square is the second annual Black Creators Forum Pitch Rally. Eight filmmakers will present their projects they want to film in Memphis on stage, and a jury will decide which one will receive the $10,000 prize, presented by Epicenter Memphis. The inaugural event was very exciting last year, and with this year’s line up of talent (which you can see over on the Indie Memphis website), it promises to be another great event.

Over at Studio on the Square at 3:40 p.m. is the final work by a giant of filmmaking. Varda by Agnes is a kind of cinematic memoir by the mother of French New Wave, Agnes Varda. It’s a look back at the director’s hugely influential career, made when she was 90 and completed shortly before her death last March. Here’s a clip:

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Part 2 of the unprecedentedly strong Hometowner Narrative Shorts competition field screens at Ballet Memphis at 6:15 p.m. “Shadow in the Room” is an impressionistic short by director Christian Walker. Based on a Memphis Dawls song, and featuring exquisite cinematography by Jared B. Callen, it stars Liz Brasher, Cody Landers, and the increasingly ubiquitous Syderek Watson, who had a standout role on this week’s Bluff City Law.

Waheed AlQawasmi produced “Shadow In The Room” and directed the next short in the bloc, “Swings.” Based on the memoir by ballerina Camilia Del, who also stars in the film, it deftly combines music from Max Richter with Del’s words and movement.

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“A Night Out” is Kevin Brooks and Abby Myers’ short film which took this year’s Memphis Film Prize. It’s a technical tour de force—done entirely in a single, 13-minute tracking shot through Molly Fontaine’s by cinematographer Andrew Trent Fleming. But it also carries an emotional punch, thanks to a bravado performance by Rosalyn R. Ross.

In “Greed” by writer/director A.D. Smith, a severely autistic man, played by G. Reed, works as a human calculator for a drug lord. But while he is dismissed by the gun-toting gangsters around him, he might not be as harmless as he seems.

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Andre Jackson’s tense and chilling “Stop” finds two men, one a cop and the other a mysterious stranger from his past, reunited by a chance encounter on the road.

STOP Teaser Trailer from Andre Jackson on Vimeo.

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Kyle Taubkin’s “Soul Man” earned big applause at the Memphis Film Prize, thanks to a heartfelt performance by Curtis C. Jackson as a washed-up Stax performer trying to come to grips with his past.

Soul Man – Teaser #1 (2019) from Kyle Taubken on Vimeo.

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Director Morgan Jon Fox, whose documentary This Is What Love In Action Looks Like is one of the best-loved films ever to screen at Indie Memphis, returns to the festival with his latest short “The One You Never Forget.” A touching story with incredible performances by two teenage actors, this film has had a killer run on the festival circuit that climaxes with this screening.

At Ballet Memphis at 9:00 p.m. is the Hometowner Documentary Short Competition bloc, featuring new work by a number of Memphis documentarians. Matthew Lee’s “9.28.18” is a wonderfully shot, verité portrait of a very eventful day in the Bluff City. Indie Memphis veteran Donald Myers returns with heartfelt memories of his grandfather, Daniel Sokolowski, and his deep connection with his hometown of Chicago in “Sundays With Gramps.” Shot in the burned-out ruins of Elvis Presley’s first house, “Return to Audubon” by director Emily Burkhead and students at the Curb Institute at Rhodes College presents an incredible performance by Susan Marshall of Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel. Shot in the churches of Memphis and rural Mississippi, “Soulfed” by Zaire Love will tempt your appetite with an examination of the intimate connection between religion and cuisine. “That First Breath,” a collaboration between Danielle Hurst, Madeline Quasebarth, and Kamaria Thomas, interviews Mid-South doulas and advocates for a more humane and natural childbirth experience. “How We Fall Short” by Brody Kuhar and Julie White is a six-minute dive into the Tennessee criminal justice system. “Floating Pilgrims” by David Goodman is a portrait of the vanishing culture of people who live on boats in the Wolf River Harbor. “St. Nick” is Lauren Ready’s story of a high school athlete fighting debilitating disease. “Fund Our Transit” by Synthia Hogan turns its focus on activist Justin Davis’ fight for better transportation options in Memphis. And finally, Zaire Love’s second entry, “Ponzel,” is one black woman’s search for meaning in an uncertain world.

The competition feature Jezebel (9:30 p.m., Hattiloo Theatre) by director Numa Perrier focuses on the story of a young black woman in Las Vegas who is forced to take a job as a cam girl when the death of her mother threatens to leave her homeless. The emotional heart of the film is the conflict that arises when the protagonist discovers that she kind of likes being naughty with strangers on the internet, and the dangers that arise when one of her clients gets too close.

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Outdoors in the big tent block party, the premiere musical event of the festival happens at 8:30 p.m. Unapologetic Records will celebrate the release of its new compilation album Stuntarious IV with a show featuring performances by A Weirdo From Memphis, IMAKEMADBEATS, C Major, Kid Maestro, She’Chinah, Aaron James, and Cameron Bethany. Expect surprises and, well, lots of mad beats!

Finally, at midnight, a pair of screenings of classic films—for various definitions of the word “classic”— at Studio on the Square. Queen of the Damned is Michael Rymer’s adaptation of the third novel in Anne Rice’s vampire trilogy. Pop star Aaliyah starred as vampire queen Akasha, and had just finished the film when she died in a plane crash in the Bahamas. The film has become something of a camp classic, and is probably most notable today for inspiring a ton of great Halloween costumes.

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The other screening is Exorcist director William Friedkin’s masterpiece Sorcerer. Starring Roy Scheider as an anti-hero in charge of a ragtag group of desperados trying to move a truckload of nitroglycerin through the Amazon jungle, it’s a gripping ride through human greed.

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Come back tomorrow for another daily update on Indie Memphis 2019.