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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Lose Third in a Row

Desmond Bane shoots the ball against the Atlanta Hawks. (Credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images.)

The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Atlanta Hawks 132-130 on a last-second turnover Sunday night, giving them their first three-game losing streak of the season.

This marks the third consecutive game that Memphis has lost in the final seconds: On February 28th, OG Anunoby made a three-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining to put the Knicks up 114-113; On March 1st, D’Aaron Fox sunk a 20-foot shot with 2.6 seconds remaining to put the Spurs up 130-128; and then last night’s buzzer-beater from Caris LeVert gave the Hawks their 132-130 victory.

One common denominator across all three games is that the Grizzlies have given up double-digit points off double-digit turnovers. At some point, a real conversation needs to be had about their impact on the team’s record this season.

The game started out on a sour note for the Grizzlies after Jaren Jackson Jr. left the court 1:39 seconds into the first quarter after turning an ankle. Memphis finished the first quarter up by six points, thanks to Atlanta’s shooting of zero percent from beyond the arc.

The Grizzlies gave up 42 points in the second quarter and headed into the second half down by five. The third quarter was the opposite, with the Hawks giving up 42 points in the period.

Memphis’ six-point lead heading into the final period was not enough, as they scored only 23 points to Atlanta’s 31.

They were tied at 130-130 when Desmond Bane turned the ball over in the final seconds. Caris LeVert scored the final seven points for the Hawks, including his game-winning shot at the buzzer.

This was one of the most disappointing losses of the season, and it highlights the Grizzlies’ turnover issues. After spending most of the season grappling for the second seed, Memphis has dropped to fourth in the Western Conference.

If the playoffs started tomorrow, the Grizzlies would face Houston in the first round, and if their regular season matchup were any indication, the Rockets would give the Grizzlies a painful first-round exit.

Memphis needs to correct the course, and soon, in this final stretch. The fate of their season depends on it.

By The Numbers:

Desmond Bane recorded his first career triple-double, scoring a game-high 35 points, to go along with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Luke Kennard finished with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

Zach Edey added 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.

Jaylen Wells closed out with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

Vince Williams Jr. led the bench with 15 points, and added 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

GG Jackson chipped in with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block.

Brandon Clarke finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block.

Who Got Next?

The Grizzlies will finish their five-game homestand on Wednesday, March 5th, when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tip-off will be at 8:30 PM CST, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN and FanDuel Sports Network.

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News News Blog News Feature

State Bill Review: Protestors, Forever Chemicals, and Finding Deer With Drones

Terrance Raper on Unsplash

Lawmakers in Nashville are kicking their law-making machines into high gear with committee schedules filled to the brim with everything from far-right fueled covenant marriages to hunters finding wounded deer with drones. 

Here’s a few bills we’re watching: 

Gender transition (SB 0676): Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) says this law ensures that if a gender clinic takes state funds to perform gender transition procedures, they’ll have to also perform “detransition procedures.” 

The bill also requires a report to the state on a ton of of information about any transition procedures: the age and sex of the patient, what drugs were given, when the referral was made, what state and county the patient is from, and a complete list of ”neurological, behavioral, or mental health conditions” the patient might have had. Almost everything but the patient’s name and WhatsApp handle. 

Forever chemicals (SB0880): The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing this bill, and maybe not just in Tennessee. 

When a rep for the organization (Mark Behrens, a representative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform), explained it to a Senate committee last week, he specifically mentioned PFAS (also called forever chemicals by some), which are found in non-stick cookware, firefighting foam, and more. He also broadly mentioned “microplastics” and “solvents.” 

Behrens claimed these may have a PR problem but they may also be in a situation where “the science (on them) is evolving  and they may not have an impact on human health, or that impact may be unclear.” 

So, rather than the state banning them for just having a bad rap, any ban would have to be based on “the best available science.” For a deep dive on this, read Tennessee Lookout’s story below. 

Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) asked if this could be used to keep fluoride out of drinking water. No, she was told. 

Bill pushing ‘sound science’ would impact future regulations on ‘forever chemicals’

“Medical Ethics Defense Act“ (SB0995): ”This bill prohibits a healthcare provider from being required to participate in or pay for a healthcare procedure, treatment, or service that violates the conscience of the healthcare provider.” The bill itself is scanty on details. On its face, it sure sounds aimed at the LGBTQ community.            

But bill sponsor Sen. Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) said it was a “straightforward bill,” covering things such as assisted suicide or whether or not a pharmacist felt comfortable prescribing birth control. 

Deer and drones (SB0130): This one is straightforward. It would allow hunters to use drones to find deer they shot.  

WHO now? (SB0669): With this bill, Taylor, the Memphis Republican, says pandemics can only be declared by the American baseball-and-apple-pie Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not the soccer-and-scone World Health Organization (WHO).

Cash for STI tests (SB0189): Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) wants to give higher-education students in Tennessee $250 for taking a voluntary test for sexually transmitted diseases. 

Felonies for protestors (0672): You know how Memphis protestors like to shut down the Hernando DeSoto Bridge? Well, Taylor, that Memphis Republican, would make that a felony. 

But it’s not just big roads and protestors. The bill applies to anyone obstructing “a highway, street, sidewalk, railway, waterway, elevator, aisle, hallway, or other place used for the passage of persons or vehicles.” Those would be Class E felonies. 

But if the “offense was committed by intentionally obstructing a highway, street, or other place used for the passage of vehicles,” it would be a Class D felony.  

What’s in a name? (SB0214): This bill would prohibit any public facility to be named for a local public official who is currently in office — and for two years after they leave office. The same prohition would also apply to anyone who has “been convicted of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude.”

Covenant marriage (SB 0737): This bill creates “covenant marriage” in Tennessee. And the most important thing the bill caption wants you to know about the law is that this kind of marriage “is entered into by one male and one female.” 

Covenant marriage is, like, a mega, pinky-swear marriage. To get it, couples have to go to pre-marital counseling and their preacher or counselor or whatever has to get notarized some kind of pamphlet to be printed by the Secretary of State. 

Getting out of a covenant marriage is, like, way hard. A partner would have to cheat, or die, be sentenced to death or lifelong imprisonment, leave the house for a year, or physically or sexually abuse the other partner or the couple’s children. 

These types of marriages are only available now in Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana. 

Here’s a couple of opinion pieces from The Tennessean if you want to find out more about the two sides of this issue. 

Oh, and if you wonder where this is coming from, check out this video that shows Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), one of the bill’s sponsors, at church talking about “wicked” gay marriage. 

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “Top of the Moon” by Recent Future

Recent Future is a relatively new band with Charlie Davis of Trash Goblin and David Johnson of James and the Ultrasounds. The two have been friends since meeting in 1998 at Tennessee’s Governor’s School for the Arts. They decided to form Recent Future during the pandemic, when “the world’s uncertainty and upheaval, mixed with the personal reflection, anxiety and ultimately, hope, of new fathers,” says the band.

The melding of personalities takes visual form in Recent Future’s “Top of the Moon.” The video leans on analog CRT technology and some disturbing and surreal splitscreen images to reinforce the mood of doomy synth disco.

You can see the band live this Friday, March 7 at B-Side with Jon Hart & the Vollontines and Magic Hours. But first, get into the groove:

 If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com

Categories
News News Blog News Feature

‘School Board The Musical’ to Tackle Feagins’ Termination

Photo Credit: Ladia Yates

The firing of former Memphis Shelby County School’s (MSCS) superintendent Marie Feagins will have a theatrical retelling from the students of Ladia Yates Entertainment (L.Y.E.) Academy.

Feagins’ termination sparked public interest from parents, students, and community members alike — prompting it to be the center of social media think-pieces and fodder. 

Ladia Yates, owner of L.Y.E. Academy, says it all could make a good documentary, which inspired her to create School Board The Musical.

“It’s actually a very interesting story,” Yates said. “It’s a revolving door. Something just keeps unfolding [and] keeping people’s attention. I think it’s a learning lesson, and I think it shows there’s a lot of corruption within the city of Memphis, the school system, the local government, that’s holding people back. It’s holding the city of Memphis back.”

Yates said Feagins “took the lid off” these things, which likely caused the fiasco to unfold.

“Whatever they’re doing is being revealed through her [Feagins],” Yates said. “Even if she didn’t try to do that, that’s just what’s happening. That’s why it’s such a big controversy.”

Controversy and drama is what draws people in, Yates adds. It also invites room for social commentary, and parody, which comedian Latoya Polk took advantage of during the height of the ordeal. Polk added humor by reenacting various meetings and embodying different school board members — an approach Yates found inspiring. Now, Polk will channel that same theatricality as the musical’s host.

“She’s bringing some sort of light to the situation through comedy,” Yates said. “That’s like how I’m bringing light to the situation through dance.”

These themes of light and laughter are integral in not only bringing the production to light, but for people to digest the mess in general. Yates said people were ready to “crash out” over Feagins, as the debacle was not just about her, but the welfare of students.

Feagins recently visited Yates’ studio for a public speaking class and recalls her students being immediately drawn to her. 

“She has an energy that will draw you to her, contrary to what the board is saying,” Yates said. “You see all the kids … they’re taking to her, she’s dancing with them. You see the photos and can see the camaraderie between her and the children and you can tell they naturally take to her.”

While it can be easy for Feagins’ termination to be marked by turmoil, Yates hopes the musical will represent resilience, and leave people inspired.

“It’ll be clean-cut. We’re not going to bash anyone, call out names, or use anyone’s likeness,” Yates said. “It’s more so for inspiration and just telling a story, and the moral of the story is don’t give up. Keep going no matter who stabs you in the back.”


School Board The Musical opens at 5 p.m. on April 13th at Crosstown Theater. Tickets can be purchased here.

Categories
Art Art Feature

Tops’ ‘In the Hands of a Poet’

A sculpture and a fountain, River Man by the local artist John McIntire stands in the contrapposto pose simultaneously drinking a beer and peeing, the 2022 piece depicting a friend’s party-trick from the 1960s — that of the “human fountain.” The sculpture has been shown in Matt Ducklo’s Tops Gallery, a cheeky little thing, but even he didn’t know the source of McIntire’s inspiration at first. “He didn’t want to say it at the time,” Ducklo says. “But it’s based on [Kenneth Lawrence] Beaudoin.”

Ducklo has been interested in Beaudoin for a decade or so, the poet who’s been called “Forgotten ‘Poet-Laureate of the Mid-South.’” “ I started to think about him more after McIntire made that sculpture,” he says. And, now, as of December 2024, Beaudoin’s work — his poetry combining the visual with the literary — is on display in Tops’ “In the Hands of a Poet,” co-curated with artist Dale McNeil.

Like McIntire, Beaudoin was big in the counterculture scene in Memphis during the mid-20th century. He hosted literary salons out of his own home, created the Gem Stone Awards for poetry, and was one of the founders of the Poetry Society of Tennessee. He knew writers like Tennessee Williams, Jonathan Williams, William Carlos Williams, e.e. cummings, Randall Jarrell, and Ezra Pound. By day, Beaudoin was a clerk for the Memphis Police Department for nearly three decades. “My police job kept me close to human beings in tense situations,” he once told The Commercial Appeal. “From a poet’s point of view, it was perhaps the most important job I could have had.”

It was at his clerk’s desk — and his home — that he worked on his “eye poems,” collages of words and images from magazine cut-outs. “He would just sit in the middle of piles of magazines and books, cutting, gluing, and smoking,” McIntire said in a press release.

The result is something, as Ducklo says, “meant for the eye as much as they’re meant for the head.” The poems themselves are succinct, their visual pleasure subverting the capitalist and consumerist trends promoted in these magazines — magazines Beaudoin sliced and rearranged for his own purposes, an act itself another subversion. 

Beaudoin created thousands of these eye poems and frequently gave them to friends and peers. Many of them — and other forms of his poetry — were widely published in small journals in his lifetime. Today, though, his poetry is out of print, including even his most comprehensive work, Selected Poems and Eye Poems 1940-1970. 

This exhibit, in a way, serves as a reintroduction to the largely forgotten poet. After 10 years wanting to show Beaudoin’s work, Ducklo found someone wanting to sell their Beaudoin collection and, with his co-curator Dale McNeil’s Beaudoin poems, had enough for this show. Together, they also created a book that is currently available for purchase at the gallery. (You can also purchase it here.)

Beaudoin stopped creating his eye poems after going blind in the 1980s. He died in 1995. 

“In the Hands of a Poet” is on display through March 1st.

Tops Gallery is located in the basement of 400 South Front St. The entrance is on Huling. The gallery’s hours are noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and by appointment.

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News News Feature Politics Real Estate

Memphis Flyer Podcast Feb 27, 2025: The Battle for Midtown

On this week’s edition of the podcast, Toby Sells talks about his cover story “The Battle for Midtown.” Zoning and housing are hot topics, as the Memphis 3.0 plan is up for review.

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

Big Three Lead Grizzlies to Victory Over Suns in Overtime

Brandon Clarke dunks the ball against the Phoenix Suns. (Credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images.)

The Memphis Grizzlies narrowly defeated the Phoenix Suns 151-148 in their first overtime game of the season, Tuesday night, moving to 3-0 in the season series.

Phoenix controlled the game for most of the first half, thanks to big offensive contributions from Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

Memphis fought back in the second half with a vengeance. After being down by as many as 10 in the third period, the Grizzlies went on a 13-1 scoring run to give themselves a 99-97 lead, outscoring the Suns 43-41 in the quarter.

Former Memphis Grizzly Grayson Allen had a hot hand in the fourth quarter off the bench for Phoenix, shooting 4 of 4 from beyond the arc and 3 of 5 from the free throw line for a total of 15 points in the quarter.

Ja Morant also scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, with Desmond Bane adding 11 points. Jaren Jackson Jr.’s night ended by fouling out late in the final moments of regulation play, but not before putting together an impressive stat sheet for the night.

Morant’s floater with 1.9 on the clock tied the game at 137-137 and sent the game to overtime.

The Grizzlies trio of Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Ja Morant combined for 82 points out of 151, but it was a team effort that secured the win.

During the extra period, Santi Aldama hit a well-timed three-pointer to pull Memphis within one with 1:10 remaining.

Brandon Clarke tipped in a second-chance bucket to give Memphis the lead with 37 seconds on the game clock, and rookie Jaylen Wells hammered home the victory, scoring the final points with 9.1 seconds left.

By The Numbers:

Ja Morant led the Grizzlies in scoring with 29 points, and added 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points, shooting 11 of 13 overall and 3 of 3 from beyond the arc. He added 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks

Desmond Bane finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals.

Jaylen Wells closed out with 19 points on 7 of 12 overall shooting and 5 of 7 from three-point range. He added 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Wells scored the final points for Memphis during overtime.

Santi Aldama led the second unit with 17 points on 6 of 9 overall shooting and 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, tying his season-high five made three-pointers. He also contributed 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Brandon Clarke added 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block, including tipping in the basket that gave the Grizzlies the lead in overtime.

Who Got Next?

The Grizzlies will continue their five-game homestand Friday night against the New York Knicks. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.

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News News Blog News Feature

Cotton Museum Could Be Sold to the State

Credit: The Cotton Museum via Facebook

The Cotton Museum could soon be purchased and managed by the state of Tennessee.

A bill filed in the Tennessee General Assembly by state Rep. Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) and state Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) would put the Memphis museum in state hands on July 1. 

The bill’s caption reads the proposed law “requires the state to enter into good faith negotiations for the purchase of the Cotton Museum in Memphis, subject to approval by the State Building Commission.”  

The full bill text says that the state would enter into negotiations to manage the museum. If approved, management would given to the Tennessee State Museum and managed by the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission in collaboration with the Tennessee Historical Commission.

The museum was founded in 2006 to “preserve the history of this worldwide marketplace and to tell the epic story of the famed cash crop and its profound influence on the city of Memphis,” according to its website.  

“Our mission is to share the story of the cotton and the influences of the people that were gathered here around the industry not only with a growing international audience, but with Memphis area residents,  especially our city’s youth,” the site reads. 

The bill was filed earlier this month. Its first formal review is planned for Wednesday during the Senate Education Committee.  

We’ll follow this story for more details. 

Categories
Music Music Features

The Folk Alliance International Conference: From Memphis to Montreal

Marcella Simien, singer from Memphis, Tennessee, and Anne Harris (right), songwriter/fiddle player/vocalist based in Chicago, Illinois, perform at the Folk Alliance’s 37th annual conference. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)

Anyone who believes folk music is a male-dominated profession has never attended the Folk Alliance International Conference, where women dominated the five-day festival that ended Sunday, as they have for years. 

When a singer like Marcella Simien of Memphis pulled out her antique squeeze box and started to sing, there was no question that she was in charge.

The 37th annual conference, which convened in Memphis for several years, was held at Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel in a city still digging out from a blizzard that dumped more than two feet of snow five days earlier. The more than 2,400 music fans from around the world didn’t mind so much. It just meant that they stayed inside and heard intimate concerts held almost 13 hours a day by more than 1,000 performers in more than 100 spaces, as large as a theater or as small as a hotel room. How intimate? Some 2 a.m. shows were performed for only two or three people.

Memphian Savannah Brister performs on the Soul Stage. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)

On a larger stage, Simien performed a show that defied convention and labeling, though she called it “psychedelic swamp soul.” A well-known music and arts figure in Memphis and daughter of two-time Grammy Award-winning zydeco artist Terrance Simien, she sometimes performs with her dad in the Zydeco Experience. 

And she believes the spirit of her great-grandmother influences her life and decisions.

“She came to me in a dream,” she said. “I never met her but was told all the stories of how she married at age 15 and had 15 children. They lived off the land in rural Louisiana. We are a part of a generation of survivors.” 

She said Memphis has been very good to her. 

Her new CD, with the long title of To Bend to the Will of a Dream That’s Being Fulfilled, was just released.

Performing with Simien at Folk Alliance was the enigmatic singer-dancer-actress-violinist Anne Harris, originally from Yellow Springs, Ohio, a product of a Creole background. She spent nine years touring with Otis Taylor. Her exotic performances, which include dance, are captivating. Her new CD release, I Feel It Once Again, comes out on May 9th.

Memphians Savannah Brister and Rachel Maxann also played the conference’s Soul Stage. They were but a few of the hundreds of performers hoping to impress the many club promoters, festival organizers, disc jockeys, agents, and music critics that this event is designed for.

The pace is exhausting. There are practical classes in the morning, teaching artists how to find their own voice, hire lawyers, and track their taxes, as well as interviews with performers and newsmakers.

Attendees count on word of mouth to choose which shows to attend. Walking down a crowded hallway, they hear snippets of songs coming from the hotel rooms turned mini-studios, which draw them inside. Artists and promoters often offer snacks and drinks to lure people in for a song or two.

Hands down one of the superheroes of the week was Crys Matthews, a powerful singer-songwriter from Nashville, whose three songs at a late-night showcase stunned a standing room only crowd into silence — followed by massive applause.

She was on a late-night bill with Dar Williams and The Nields, who also killed. Matthews held her own with those two powerhouse acts, which is no simple feat.

Seek out her quiet protest song, “My Kind of Christianity.” That’s how it’s done. 

And lest people think there were no quality male performers, there were many. Festival veteran Steve Poltz of Nashville performed before a packed house in one of the larger theaters and was a huge hit. He read lyrics scrawled on paper that he wrote the night before about a conversation with Jesus. Many other artists like Dan Navarro, John Muirhead, and David Myles brought up the testosterone level.

The next Folk Alliance International Conference will be in a much warmer city, New Orleans, January 21 to 25, 2026. Many people in Montreal fondly remembered when it was held in Memphis. For information on how to attend, go to folk.org. 

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We Recommend We Recommend We Saw You

WE SAW YOU: Bluff City Fire & Ice Chili Cook-Off & Polar Bear Plunge

Perla Kirkpatrick, Kathy and John Lyons, Ben Bolden, Michelle Bolden, and Jonas Bolden (Photos: Michael Donahue)

A rainy day is a good day to soak up some chili and jump into a tank of water. Special Olympics Greater Memphis obliged with its annual Bluff City Fire & Ice Chili Cook-Off & Polar Bear Plunge.

Amarion Tate and
Amari Funches
Kevin Brazzell
Chad and Graham Cornwell
Eleanor Massey, Troy Ramsey, and
Gloria Ramsey
Josh, Alice, Valerie, and Aggie Sparks

The event, held on February 16th at the Pipkin Building, featured 56 chili contestants, says Lisa M. Taylor, executive director of Special Olympics Greater Memphis.

Shannon Smith and
Tim Crosas
Spencer Stalnaker
 Jacob Frasure,
Andrew Martin, Noah Burch, and Hunter Stroud
Tim Griffin, Michael Thomas, Lonnie Hurt, 
Spencer Owens, Don Taylor, and
Courtney Bradley
Jacob Dyer, Jerry Suzore, Josh Mayo,
Michael Dyer, and Mark Wes

More than 500 people attended, Taylor says. “It was not our biggest one, crowd-wise, due to the weather,” she says.

But, she says, “With the weather being like it was, I think we did excellent.”

Rob, Ashley, and
Llewyn Coleman
Andy Demster, 
John Lunsford, and
Chance Nester
Kimberly Tolbert and
Hollis Moore

Then there were those people who wanted to get wet. They participated in the Polar Bear Plunge. “We were very lucky to have a break in the weather. They plunged into a pool we set up. We had around 85 people, including the U of M football players and three U of M volleyball players.”

Bryan Crow, Gray Clawson, and Emi Payne
Alexis Michael, Chris Carrier,
Cody Garbuzinski, Riley Kilgore, and
Evan Michael
Henry Boggs, Alex Boggs, Reagan Boggs, Jenay Boggs, Lisa Farrah, and Thomas Boggs

But again, she says, “Weather cut the numbers.”

Knuckleheads Chili came in first place in the chili contest, which celebrated its 18th anniversary. This was the 29th Polar Bear Plunge.