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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Beat Mavericks 98-88, Tie for #1 in West

CREDIT: Matthew Preston

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Grizzlies returned to FedExForum hoping to secure another win, and a tie for first in the Western conference, after 16 games.

The Dallas Mavericks arrived in Memphis on a four-game win streak, having beaten the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Jaren Jackson had faced off against every other top 5 2018 draft pick except the Mavs’ Luka Doncic before tonight.
Matthew Preston

In his pregame availability, Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the foundation has been set after 15 games and lauded the team’s solid identity and culture. In terms of improvement, Bickerstaff said better offense will come along as the Grizzlies get more comfortable with one another, and learn each others’ games and how to play toward their teammates’ strengths and tendencies.

The Mavericks started the game on a 5-0 run, but the game sank waist-deep into that Grindhouse mud soon after and remained bogged down, per the Grizzlies’ liking, from that point onward. Neither team pulled away by more than a few points, with the lead changing hands 17 times.

The Mavericks got an early boost from Dorian Finney-Smith’s two threes. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies shot 0-4 from deep to begin the game.

Jackson put on a showcase in the first quarter. Though he and Doncic were the star rookies in this matchup, Jackson spent more of his time guarding and being guarded by DeAndre Jordan.

Jackson made Jordan look downright foolish on a handful of possessions. On one play, Marc Gasol kicked the ball out to Jackson in the corner. Jackson dribble-drove into Jordan, backed up, then drove past him for a reverse-layup.

Grizzlies Beat Mavericks 98-88, Tie for #1 in West (2)

In another sequence, Jackson hit a deep two in Jordan’s face, then blocked Jordan’s dunk attempt on the other end. Jackson registered another block on Jordan in the post soon after. The Mavericks finished the first period shooting 29.2 percent from the field.

Between the first two quarters, the Grizzlies game-break entertainment featured a three-way competition between dental equipment. I’m only pointing that out because the competition and accompanying video made less sense than episode 8 of the recent Twin Peaks. I don’t know if it was ineffectual production or high art, but I didn’t like it (unlike episode 8 of Twin Peaks).

Another absurd thing that happened: Jackson had multiple highlights in one sequence. Doncic had a look from three, but didn’t want to take it with Jackson defending the perimeter. Instead, he drove towards the rim, but only made it about a step before Jackson picked his pocket, ran the court, and finished at the other end with an and-one spin move. It was sublime and deserving of the Black Unicorn nickname I’ve seen spreading on Twitter.

Grizzlies Beat Mavericks 98-88, Tie for #1 in West (3)

Mike Conley also had a sweet assist to Jackson in the second quarter, where he drove to the rim and no-look flipped the ball over his shoulder to the trailing rookie. I’m interested to see how the Grizzlies’ fast break offense unearths ways to leverage Jackson’s abilities for easy points.

After the game, Bickerstaff said Jackson has “… an offensive skill set that we’re just beginning to see.” I agree.

Through good overall team play, the Mavericks pulled ahead early in the second quarter, and held that lead til near the end of the half. But the Grizzlies clawed their way back to a four point lead after two quarters.

One thing I liked seeing: Gasol looking great on one of his rumbling hook shots in the paint, with bouncy footwork and an elastic finish. It’s nice to know that shot is still very much in his tool belt.

Bickerstaff called a timeout less than a minute into the second half, after Doncic and Smith Jr. hit quick threes. Doncic would finish with 8 points in the period.

The teams finished the third quarter tied at 74.

Memphis suffocated Dallas in the fourth quarter, holding the Mavericks to 14 points. I repeat: the Grizzlies held the Mavericks to 14 points in the final period of play, and did so on the second night of a back-to-back (when their previous game was on the road).

Meanwhile, solid and clutch play by Conley, Shelvin Mack, Garrett Temple, and Gasol enabled the Grizzlies to close out the game on the offensive end.

Grizzlies Beat Mavericks 98-88, Tie for #1 in West (4)

Conley had another stellar shooting night, filling the basket to the tune of 28 points, and going 7-11 from deep! Five of those triples came in the second half. He also dished seven assists, had two steals, and five rebounds.

His shooting was efficient — 10-18 from the field. Conley made it to the line for only two free throws, but I don’t mind him pouring in nearly 30 points without having to put his body on the line to get to the charity stripe this early in the season.
Larry Kuzniewski

Kyle Anderson was effective in this game as well. His passing and defense were stellar, and he’s shown much better touch around and near the rim in the last two games. He finished with 8 points on 4-6 shooting, and had 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He had one particularly clutch play late in the game, where he missed a corner three, stole the rebound away from the Mavericks, and finished with a jam.

JaMychal Green buoyed an otherwise disappointing performance by the Grizzlies bench. Wayne Selden and Marshon Brooks had trouble making good decisions with the ball, especially in the pick and roll, and combined for just 5 points. Mack had a lackluster shooting night, taking a small number of shots, but he made a timely three in the fourth quarter, and didn’t turn the ball over once.

Green had a nice return to the home court after his jaw surgery. He had a nasty block on Dennis Smith Jr., and scored 12 points on 5-8 shooting, 2-4 from three. He was one rebound shy of a double-double.

Gasol had a solid night on offense, contributing 17 points on 6-16 shooting, but missed all five of his three point attempts. He made up for it on the boards, however, pulling down 15(!) rebounds (all defensive).

Grizzlies Beat Mavericks 98-88, Tie for #1 in West

Memphis beat Dallas on the boards (45-43), and in the paint (44-36).

Defense won the game again for the Grizzlies. The Mavericks average about 110 points a game this season, but couldn’t break 90 at the Grindhouse. Gasol and Jackson had 4 blocks each. The team had 11 overall. The Mavericks finished shooting an anemic 34.1 percent from the floor.

One thing Dallas did differently for stretches at the beginning of the game and second half, pointed out by Chris Herrington, was put Jordan on Jaren Jackson and smaller forwards on Gasol. As a result, Gasol’s three-point game was taken away, and he spent much of his time down low with Jackson on the perimeter—when their positions are usually the other way around.

After the game, Bickerstaff and Gasol said they weren’t too worried about other teams trying a similar tactic, and attributed the scheme and its success to the type of personnel the Mavericks have.

The Grizzlies are now tied for first in the Western conference after 16 games. That’s not a tiny sample size. But the team isn’t thinking much about that. Bickerstaff said he won’t be paying too much attention to the rankings until after the All-Star break, and Gasol said he was happy, but that being happy isn’t the same as being satisfied.

The Grizzlies are off until Wednesday, when they’ll take on a dangerous and similarly slow-paced Spurs team in San Antonio.

Categories
Music Music Blog

In Memoriam: Patrick Mathé of New Rose & Last Call Records

Today, the French journal Libération reports that Patrick Mathé, co-founder of New Rose Records and Last Call Records, has died. The details are not available at this time. He was 69.

Patrick Mathé

The importance of both labels to Memphis music, and underground music in general, can scarcely be overstated. After working to import punk music to France, starting in 1976, Mathé opened the New Rose record store in Paris in 1980. Soon after, he and partner Louis Thévenon started the label of the same name.

Their first release, the Saints’ Paralytic Tonight, Dublin Tomorrow, set the tone for a long track record of soulful garage rock, alternative, and punk music. Many Memphis-associated artists were eventually released on the label, including Alex Chilton, Tav Falco & His Unapproachable Panther Burns, the Hellcats, and the Country Rockers. Chilton, after releasing two Eps on Big Time, shored up his career revival in the mid-’80s with High Priest, Black List, and Clichés on New Rose. The label also released such Chilton-produced gems as the Gories’ I Know You Fine But How You Doin’? and Les Lolitas’ Fusée D’Amour.

In Memoriam: Patrick Mathé of New Rose & Last Call Records

Even renegade country groups like the Country Rockers or Our Favorite Band, some of the first artists recorded by Memphis’ Doug Easley (who would doubtless be rejected by today’s gatekeepers of Americana), were welcomed by New Rose, as were many other unclassifiable combos. Many of them were featured on compilations like the multi-band Everyday is a Holly Day, a tribute to Buddy Holly, as well as on albums under their own names. 

In the 90s, New Rose was put on ice, as Mathé launched Last Call Records with much the same aesthetic as its predecessor. Perhaps that label’s greatest achievement, subjectively speaking, was the brilliant Cubist Blues, an improvised album by Alex Chilton, Ben Vaughn, and Alan Vega, released in 1996. It also re-released many older New Rose titles, and continued to operate well into the 21st Century. As Vaughn wrote in a Facebook post today, “He was the first true ‘bon vivant’ I ever met. A great music man. He will definitely be missed.”

Categories
News News Blog

BREAKING: Fairgrounds TDZ Wins State Approval

City leaders cleared a major hurdle Monday morning with a positive vote from state leaders on the city’s plan for the redevelopment of the Memphis Fairgrounds.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Paul Young, the city’s director of Housing and Community Development, won approval of the city’s revamped Tourism Development Zone (TDZ) from the executive committee of the State Building Commission during a meeting Monday morning in Nashville.

The move would allow state taxes inside the zone to be redirected to pay for the possibly $181 million plan that would transform the fairgrounds into a youth sports mecca.

“Competitive youth sports is a huge business and, if you’ve ever been, it’s a lot of fun, too,” Strickland told the four-member committee Monday morning. “It’s multiple thousands of families taking mini-vacations all across the area. Retailers, restaurants, and hotels do a booming business. I know because my son did it all over the Midwest and Southeast playing basketball.”

Young noted the TDZ proposal before the board Monday was completely different from the plan put before them in 2013. He said his team looked again at competitive youth sports market reports and ensured the plan focused only on those sports with which they could compete (basketball, volleyball, mat sports, and indoor cheerleading).

Also, Young said his team “right-sized“ the retail spaces, the sports facilities, and made sure the complex would not compete with existing sports facilities in the Mid-South.

“The only similarities at this point is that it’s at the Fairgrounds site and it’s youth sports,” he said.

Young explained the project would move through three phases. Phase one is complete, with Tiger Lane, improvements to Liberty Bowl stadium, and site work for phase two. That part of the project would include the construction of the youth sport complex, which would front Southern on the south end of the Fairgrounds.

But before hammers begin to swing on the complex, state officials will have another review of the plan before it moves ahead at all. Monday’s approval of the TDZ allows city officials to begin collecting commitments of the $61 million in private funds needed to fuel phase two of the project. State finance officials will only sign off on the the $90 million in bonds city leaders will issue for their part of the project if they can raise those private funds.

“If the money and the numbers do not work out, we will not move forward with the project,” Young said.

During Monday’s meeting, Justin Wilson, the state Comptroller of the Treasury, said at first he was “very suspicious of this project.” But with those financial assurances from city leaders (that they’d halt the plan if the money didn’t work) and that state officials would get another look at it later, “I’m satisfied this is the appropriate thing to do.”

If the finances are in line, city leaders could issue the bonds next year or early 2020. With that, the plan said the complex could open by 2021 or 2022.

Phase three of the project would begin within five years of the completion of phase two. Phase three cold cost up to $30 million and include “iconic” entrances and exists, improvements to the Pipkin building, expanded parking, a tourist attraction at Melrose High School, and more.

The Mid-South Coliseum would remain mothballed under the plan. but Young told committee members Monday that private funding to revive the building would emerge if the area around it were reactivated.  

Larry Martin, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration, commended Strickland and his administration for a “job well done.”

“The city of Memphis has come a long way with this TDZ from 2013 to the plan we have in front of us today,” he said.

State Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) spoke in support of the city’s TDZ. He pointed to re-development projects all over the city including Crosstown Concourse, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the city’s riverfront, and South Main. He said he considered the Fairgrounds part of the city’s “Golden Horseshoe.”

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Fingertrick

INITIATE MUSIC VIDEO MONDAY PROTOCOL

Chris Pietrangelo, Patrick Pietrangelo, Alessio Mauro, aka Fingertrick, are not feeling themselves in director Blake Heimbach’s video for “All Dawgs Go To Heaven.”  Will experimental psycho-medical intervention from a sexy nurse save these young rockers, stricken with insanity before their time? Watch this slick clip to find out!

Music Video Monday: Fingertrick

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

Categories
From My Seat Sports

Gameday Gratitude

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

I like to give thanks this time of year for the little (and big) treasures from the local sports scene that have enriched life in Memphis.

• I’m grateful for two years of Stubby Clapp-led baseball teams at AutoZone Park. The Memphis Redbirds’ 2017 championship club — 13-0 in extra-inning games — felt over the top at times. The winning came so steadily, so “easily.” Then 2018 happened and the Redbirds did it again. More than 60 players but one hugely popular manager with a clubhouse touch apparently borrowed from Casey Stengel. The back-to-back Pacific Coast League championships will forever be attached to the height-restricted back-to-back PCL Manager of the Year. Clapp is moving on to St. Louis, where he’ll coach first base for the Cardinals. He managed to transform Memphis baseball both as a player and a manager, a total of three championships left behind in the record book.
Larry Kuzniewski

Jaren Jackson Jr.

• I’m grateful for Jaren Jackson Jr. The day will come — I know it’s hard to stomach — when the remaining members of the Memphis Grizzlies’ Fab Four (Mike Conley and Marc Gasol) are no longer sprinting the floor at FedExForum. A franchise can fall into a post-superstar hangover in which roster comings-and-goings matter little to a fan base. (See the post-Kevin Garnett years in Minnesota.) “Triple J” (or “Trey J”?) may be the bridge to the next era for our NBA outfit. I’ve seen nothing not to like about the 19-year-old forward over the first month of his pro career. Here’s hoping we get to see a playoff run (or two) with Conley, Gasol, and Jackson.

• I’m grateful for Darrell Henderson on first down. And second and third. The numbers for the Memphis Tigers’ junior tailback are silly: 1,521 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns with at least two games left to play. There will never be another DeAngelo Williams, but let it be said Henderson has been a nice reminder.

• I’m grateful for Coach Penny Hardaway. It’s been a unique view. I’m of Hardaway’s generation (two years older), so I’ve witnessed his rise to greatness as a player, his dormant years of early retirement, and now this year’s resurrection as a city’s cultural icon, all the while passing through my own life stages, however distant they are from the limelight. So I feel young whenever Hardaway is described as a new or rookie coach and I feel “seasoned” when I remember he’s older today than Larry Finch was when Finch coached his final Tiger game. Most of all, I’m grateful to again be on a ride driven by Penny Hardaway. He’s yet to disappoint.


• I’m grateful for plans to erect a statue of the great Larry Finch. This was overdue, but many of life’s happiest developments are just so. Memphis recently endured a period of conflict over statues that divided segments of the community. We will soon be able to visit a statue (and park!) that I’m convinced will unify Memphians. For such a bronze idol we should all be grateful.

• I’m grateful to be married to an exceptional athlete. My beloved wife, Sharon, will run her first marathon on December 1st, not quite four months after her 50th birthday. She has become a local running star, whether she’ll admit it or not. (She won the 2018 Race for the Cure women’s division, all age groups.) I’ve witnessed her devotion to the cause, her daily training (well beyond my reach), and the joy she’s taken through the agony of a last mile. You spend your working life admiring athletes from different circles, then find yourself cheering loudest for the person across the dinner table.


• As always, I’m grateful for Flyer readers. I hear from you year-round, appreciate your perspectives, counterpoints, and especially your passion for Memphis sports. The title of this column originated from my own devotion to fandom, to being part of the crowd that makes a sporting event — large or small — worthwhile. Thanks for keeping it alive these 17 years.
Categories
We Recommend We Saw You

Indie Film Fest, Grilled Cheese Fest, Adapt-A-Door and more!

CREDIT: Joshua Cannon

Joshua Cannon

Here’s a scene with Bailey Inman and me from Joshua Cannon’s film, ‘Waikiki Beach.’ I play a TV reporter in my first movie role. The movie premiered at this year’s Indie Memphis Film Festival.

I’m proud to say I made my film debut at the recent Indie Memphis Film Festival playing a TV reporter in Waikiki Beach, a film directed by my colleague Joshua Cannon.

I had one line, which I didn’t screw up. I thought I did a good job, but I didn’t see a slew of movie directors waiting to sign me to another movie after the film was shown at the Halloran Centre during the festival.

I loved the movie, which Cannon describes as a “drama comedy.”

This year’s Indie Memphis Festival was outstanding, says Indie Memphis executive director Ryan Watt. “I feel like it’s our best year ever based on the films and the response we’re getting from everybody,” he says. “Just through our surveys from the audience and the feedback. We did an audience survey. Four hundred people replied. It was our third year to do it and I would say it was our best feedback.”

Counting every type of film, including music videos and shorts, Watt says there were 275 movies shown. “Which is the most we’ve ever had.”

Michael Donahue

Austin Barringer and J. M. Stodola, whose movie trailer, ‘Bumble,’ was in the Indie Memphis Film Festival.

Michael Donahue

Jonathan Clarke, Sakura Horiuchi, Robert Stodola, Hibah Siddiqui at Indie Memphis filmmakers after party.

…………
Michael Donahue

Van Duren, Vicki Lovelace, Wade Jackson and Diana and Jody Stephens at a showing of ‘Waiting: The Van Duren Story’ at Malco Ridgeway.

I really loved Waiting: The Van Duren Story, a documentary about Memphis singer/songwriter/musician Van Duren. It won the Audience Award for Best Hometowner Feature this year. It’s a must see if you haven’t already seen it. I did a feature story on Van Duren a couple of years ago. He told me a documentary was being made on him, but he couldn’t talk about it.

I enjoyed meeting the Australian directors Wade Jackson and Greg Cary at the festival’s filmmaker’s after party, which was held November 5th at Tad’s Indoor Trailer Park.

Wade, who stayed a while after Cary left Memphis, got up and played guitar during Van Duren’s regular Thursday night gig at Mortimer’s.

Michael Donahue

Greg Cary and Wade Jackson at the Indie Memphis filmmakers after party.

Michael Donahue

Jack Gould and Claire O’Connell sample some grilled cheese at the Memphis Grilled Cheese Festival.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I love grilled cheese sandwiches. My mother used to make killer ones on an electric toaster oven, which she procured after saving Top Value or Green stamps. She’d dot each sandwich with four tabs of butter before she put the sandwiches in the toaster. That’s all she ever used that oven for, as I recall.

All this is a long way of saying I’m a fan of Memphis Grilled Cheese Festival. This year’s event was held November 4th in front of the Hi-Tone.

One of the most arresting booths was the Mempops booth, which was manned by children.

“This is their third year to help,” says Mempops owner/founder Chris Taylor. “We got tired of doing it. (We said,) ‘You’ll take over. You do it.’” Manning the booth were the Taylor kids — Caroline and Harry — and their friends Anna Ratton, Anna Lauritzen-Wright, and Sarah Kate Ratton.

They grilled the sandwiches on an electric flat top, Taylor says.

He’s a Grilled Cheese Festival veteran. “We’ve been doing this since they’ve been doing it. It’s a block from my house, so it makes it easier.”

Bram Bors Koefoed won this year’s grilled cheese eating contest. He won a toaster and a pair of socks dotted with a pattern of little grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Michael Donahue

Bram Bors Koefoed won a toaster and a pair of socks in the grilled cheese eating contest at the Memphis Grilled Cheese Festival. With him is Brian ‘Skinny’ McCabe.

Michael Donahue

Young people manned the Mempops grilled cheese booth.

………………

Michael Donahue

Cole Ellis at Wine & Dine.

Cole Ellis, owner of Delta Meat Market in Cleveland, Miss., was one of the chefs participating in this year’s Wine & Dine fundraiser, which was held at Tower Center atop Clark Tower. The benefit was for Special Olympics Greater Memphis.

“I thought it was great,” Ellis said.

And, he says, “I’ve done a lot of those type events and it’s always nice to do stuff like that that involves my family. Lisa’s my second cousin.”

He was referring to Special Olympics Greater Memphis executive director Lisa Taylor.

I was crazy about the cuisine Ellis served. I ate several dishes. He made a carrot toast with smoked pulled Springer Mountain chicken from Georgia and smoked onion marmalade. “We use pecan wood in our smoking process. An indigenous tree in our area.”

Getting back to that carrot toast. “I made our carrot cake recipe and then baked it into logs and made it into a French toast. Instead of an egg batter I infused it with flavors I would normally use for carrot cake.”

I wish I had some right now. I also wish I could have made it to the restaurant on its fifth birthday. But Ellis says they’re postponing the birthday party and having a big Christmas party. “We’re going to do steaks for the original price for when we opened and a few other odds and ends. Frogmore stew — a shrimp boil with corn and potatoes. Basically, we’re

going to have a big party.” 

Michael Donahue

Wine & Dine

Michae Donahue

Wine & Dine

MIchael Donahue

Matthew Sheppard and Taylor Story at Wine & Dine

Michael Donahue

Brian Thurmond at Wine & Dine.

…………….

Michael Donahue

Charles Harris and Breslin Perry at LeMoyne-Owen President’s Gala

The big news at LeMoyne-Owen’s President’s Gala, held November 10th at Memphis Cook Convention Center, was the $250,000 donation from the Shelby County Commission. County Commissioners Mickell Lowery and Willie Brooks made the presentation to the school’s president Andrea Lewis Miller and board of trustees chair J. W. Gibson. The money will be used for scholarships and other things.

The gala, which drew about 700, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the merger of LeMoyne College with Owen College.

The Garry Goin Band and the LeMoyne-Owen Concert Choir performed. Dinner included chicken roulade with sweet potato medallions and New York cheesecake with raspberry coulis.

Not everyone was a LeMoyne-Owen, LeMoyne or Owen alumn; Perrin Crews, who attended with his wife, Jill, wore a pair of purple and gold – LeMoyne-Owen’s school colors – socks. “I may not be an alumn, but I’m here to support the school,” he says.

          

Michael Donahue

Crafts & Drafts

 

Michael Donahue

Grady Ferguson and Crystal Brown at Memphis Tequila Festival

The two recent Memphis Flyer events — Memphis Tequila Fest and Crafts & Drafts —were big successes.


Guests tasted and learned about 30 exotic tequilas at Memphis Tequila Fest, which was held October 19th at Overton Square. Among the brands included at the event were Casamigos, Maestro Dobel, and Tres Papalote Mezcal. A mariachi band, face painting, cigars, and cuisine from Babalu, Laura’s Kitchen, and Regina’s Cajun Kitchen rounded out the festival.

About 950 people attended. Proceeds benefited Volunteer Memphis.

Crafts & Drafts, which was held Nov. 10, featured 85 local artisan and craft vendors in front of the Crosstown Concourse. About 3,000 people attended. Proceeds benefited Crosstown Arts.


Michael Donahue

Memphis Tequila Festival

MIchael Donahue

Memphis Tequila Festival

Michael Donahue

Crafts & Drafts

Indie Film Fest, Grilled Cheese Fest, Adapt-A-Door and more!

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 109, Yale 102 (2 OT)

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

The games go on, as they must.

Two days after Karim Azab lost his eight-month battle with leukemia, his teammates took the floor at FedExForum and won the most scintillating game the barn has seen in years. Down 81-75 with 1:40 left to play in regulation, the Tigers clawed back to tie it on three Tyler Harris free throws with 2.9 seconds left on the clock. Down 96-91 with 48 seconds to play in the first overtime period, the Tigers clawed back to tie it with free throws from Jeremiah Martin and Kyvon Davenport (one each) with less than 10 seconds to play.

Larry Kuzniewski

Tyler Harris

In the second overtime — coach Penny Hardaway’s sport coat in the hands of an assistant — the Tiger defense stopped Yale on five consecutive possessions, taking command on field goals from Martin, Kareem Brewton (a three-pointer), and Alex Lomax. Wearing a patch with their fallen teammate’s initials on their uniforms, the Tigers improved to 2-1 despite missing 19 of an astounding 56 free throws.

“We were against the ropes,” said Martin. “But we stuck together as a team. I knew we were gonna win. No matter the situation or circumstance, we’d find a way out of it. For Karim, we wouldn’t want to lose. We were going to lay it all on the line.”

“When we got down, I thought about Karim in overtime,” added Davenport. “And he helped us get through it.”

The Tigers survived an onslaught by Bulldog guard Alex Copeland, who scored all 13 of his team’s points in the first overtime. They survived despite not hitting a three-pointer until the second half, despite Yale out-shooting them from the field and charity stripe. The Tigers won despite any player grabbing as many as 10 rebounds or handing out more than five assists.

“I’m proud of the guys for sticking with it,” said Hardaway after the game, now 2-0 at home as a head coach. “We didn’t have our best stuff. [Yale] made shots. We knew they were good, and in person they were great. We just outlasted them.”

Team strength can be measured in various ways, and it typically takes a few weeks to identify just how strong a squad might be collectively. After a tough loss at LSU last Tuesday and Azab’s death Thursday, the 2018-19 Tigers are summoning strength they may not have known they had. “I’ve learned these guys are resilient,” said Hardaway. “They’re tougher than I gave them credit for. You come back at LSU and take the lead, you’ve got a tough team.”

Harris led Memphis with 22 points and called on a higher power for the clutch free throws at the end of regulation. “That was one of the hardest moments of my life,” said the freshman from Cordova. “I prayed to God and He came through for me.”

Hardaway wasn’t sure of the Biblical proportions, but he was confident Harris would make the three free throws after missing one earlier in the second half. “That’s the way Tyler is,” said the rookie coach. “He relishes that moment, to stick the dagger in. I knew he was gonna make all three. He’s built for that.”

Larry Kuzniewski

Penny Hardaway

Martin struggled early but finished with 20 points, five assists, and three steals in 42 minutes of action. Brewton scored 12 points off the bench and Mike Parks scored 11 in a reserve role. (Parks started the first overtime.) Davenport and Isaiah Maurice each scored 10 points and Lomax added 13. Hardaway’s prize freshman recruits were integral in the win, Harris playing 39 minutes and Lomax 35.

The Coach Hardaway Era has already had heartbreak — of the most severe kind — and it’s now had a double-overtime thriller in front of more than 14,000 fans at FedExForum. The new face of a program he led so brilliantly as a player is comfortable with the emotional extremes. “I’ve had so many close games in my career [as a player and high school coach],” he said. “I’ve learned from the wins and the losses.”

The Tigers will travel to Orlando for three games at the Advocare Invitational Thanksgiving weekend. They tip off against Oklahoma State on Thanksgiving day at 3 p.m. They won’t return to FedExForum until December 4th, when South Dakota State comes to town.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 28, SMU 18

The Memphis Tigers and SMU Mustangs put together Friday night football follies in Dallas, and Memphis prevailed. Behind two touchdowns each from tight end Joey Magnifico and tailback Patrick Taylor, the Tigers improved to 7-4 for the season and 4-3 in the American Athletic Conference. The victory sets up what amounts to an AAC semifinal game against Houston next Friday at the Liberty Bowl, the winner advancing to the league championship game on December 1st.

The win can best be described as awkward. In the first half alone, one team botched a fake punt (SMU) while the other missed a 21-yard field goal attempt (Memphis kicker Riley Patterson). Tiger quarterback Brady White managed to complete a pass, via deflection, to himself. Taylor was taken down in the end zone for a safety. Memphis suffered more than 100 yards in penalties . . . and led at the break (7-5) courtesy of a White-to-Magnifico touchdown pass.

Taylor scored on a 9-yard run early in the third quarter to extend the Memphis lead to 14-5. SMU tightened things with a touchdown pass from Ben Hicks to James Proche for 31 yards late in the third, but Memphis responded on its ensuing possession, White again finding Magnifico in the end zone to make the score 21-12. Taylor all but clinched the win with his second touchdown run, a two-yard sprint midway through the fourth quarter.

Taylor finished the game with 112 yards on 20 carries while his backfield partner, Darrell Henderson, ran for 75 yards on 16 attempts. (Henderson surpassed 1,500 rushing yards for the season, only the second Tiger in history to do so.) White completed 18 of 31 passes for 226 yards, with the two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Sophomore wideout Damonte Coxie caught two passes for 90 yards (the first a 62-yarder on the Tigers’ opening possession). Coxie became just the third Memphis receiver to top 1,000 yards in a season but missed the second half with a leg injury.

SMU drops to 5-6 (4-3) with the loss. Memphis owns any three- or four-way tiebreaker (with Tulane and Houston also in the mix), so a win next week over the Cougars would mean a second straight trip to the AAC championship game.

The victory clinches a fifth straight winning season for the Tigers, a streak unmatched since 1973-77.

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Defeat Kings 112-104

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

If you watched Friday night’s home game against the Sacramento Kings, you know the first quarter was the Jaren Jackson show. On the first offensive possession of the game, the Grizzlies pitched it to Jackson in the low post, and he scored as easily as one pours syrup on a pancake.
Larry Kuzniewski

The Grizzlies leapt out to a 15-2 run, fueled by Jackson’s nine points, including a made three-pointer and at-will scoring in the post. It helps when your post footwork is ahead of schedule and your touch is softer than an infant’s hair. Nemanja Bjelica couldn’t guard him for beans, and had a rough go while guarded by Jackson on the other end.

Grizzlies Defeat Kings 112-104 (2)

Memphis also benefited from 66.7 percent three-point shooting in the first quarter, with Jackson, Garrett Temple, Omri Casspi, and MarShon Brooks each sinking a three.

The Kings got going near the end of the first period, however, with help from a speedy and electric De’Aaron Fox. He converted on a buzzer-beater to get the Kings to within one point heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter was defined by two nasty Wayne Selden dunks. Selden attacked the rim three times from the arc, finishing with two jams and an and-one elevated lay-in.

Fans were also treated to more of Jackson versus the Kings’ number-two draft pick, Marvin Bagley, and Jackson dominated the matchup. In one sequence, Jackson blocked Bagley in the post (he ate his lunch y’all), and finished over him on the other end.

Did the Kings fumble the Bagley by not drafting Jaren Ja… *special ops shoots me in the neck with a tranquilizer.

The Kings took the lead briefly in the middle of the second quarter, but the Grizzlies battled back and went into halftime up 62-51, after Conley hit a floater with 3.4 seconds left. Fox got a shot off on the other end, but Jaren Jackson blocked it at the buzzer.
Larry Kuzniewski

The Grizzlies never trailed in the second half. On one of the first possessions of the third quarter, Conley no-look deflected a pass that resulted in Marc Gasol getting fouled at the other end. The Grizzlies defense is scary good.

Memphis went back to their bread and butter to start the game in the second half, tossing the ball down low to Jackson and letting him feast. The Kings simply had no answer for him. He set his NBA career high in points (27), converting an alley-oop lob from MarShon Brooks. Jackson also finished the night with six boards (four of which came in the first quarter).

In his postgame press conference, Coach J.B. Bickerstaff lauded Jackson’s performance and potential, saying: “He’s just figuring it out. That’s the blessing of it, is that he doesn’t even understand how good he truly is yet.”

Bickerstaff didn’t finish the game with Jackson, however, opting to sit him in the final minutes, again. Familiar face Troy Williams made some clutch plays for the Kings and sank a couple triples down the stretch, and Sacramento got within three points in the final minutes of the game, but the Grizzlies managed to pull away just enough to close it out.

Two possessions at the end stood out. One featured the Kings’ Iman Shumpert getting a second-chance opportunity in the corner. He waved off his teammates and shot a turnaround three-point airball over Garrett Temple.

The other happened when the Kings trailed by three with 1:41 to go, and an ultra-aggressive Gasol drove through all sorts of contact and for an and-one finish. Gasol would end the night with 19 points and 15 rebounds, and set the Grizzlies’ franchise rebounding record (with former record-holder Zach Randolph in attendance, no less!).
Larry Kuzniewski

Conley had another solid scoring night, tallying 19 points on 7-16 shooting. He only hit 1-4 from three, but facilitated the offense well and notched six assists. It must be nice for both Conley and Gasol to be able to feed the rock to Jackson to start the game and the second half, and let him get his own buckets without either of the Grizzlies’ elder statesmen having to exert much energy.

De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield led the way for the Kings, combining for 35 points. Fox finished the game with a game-high 10 assists, and was the fiery engine for the Kings’ offense for most of the night. Their high level of play wasn’t enough to earn the win on this go against the Grizzlies, however.

The Grizzlies were back to their usual ways of protecting the rock in this game, turning the ball over only 13 times to the Kings’ 21. Memphis also won the battle in the paint 54-42.

One weak spot for the Grizzlies was their free throw shooting. Conley missed consecutive free throws for the second time this season, and the team shot only 62.5 percent on 24 shots from the charity stripe. The Grizzlies also continued to give up a hearty helping of open looks from deep, and are lucky that the Kings converted on just 12 of their 33 attempts.

While ZBo has yet to suit up for the Kings this season, nothing was going to stop him from seeing his daughter sing in the Lausanne choir at FedExForum Friday night. He also caught up with old teammates, coaches, and FedExForum employees.

Grizzlies Defeat Kings 112-104

The Grizzlies return to action when they take on the Jimmy Butler-less Timberwolves in Minnesota on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Zopita’s on the Square to open Nov. 19

CREDIT: Anna Palazola

Anna Palazola

Zopita’s on the Square opens Nov. 19 in Collierville.

Zopita’s on the Square will open at 11 a.m. November 19th, says owner/operator Anna Palazola.

The new restaurant, which will feature Italian as well as other dishes, is at 114 North Main on the town square in Collierville.

The idea of the restaurant is for people to pick up food to take home or eat at the restaurant, which will have seating for 26 people.

The restaurant, named after Palazola’s Italian grandmother Anna Zopita, will feature a variety of food, including Italian. She’ll offer homemade pastas, soups, specialty sandwiches, salads and good coffee. And she will carry baked goods, including hot croissants, pastries, cookies and cakes.

“It’s exactly a year since we found the building,” Palazola says. “I fell in love with the building. It’s an old building. It used to be a bank. We have the vault in here. The vault is so massive it cannot be taken out.”

As for the decor, Palazola says, “I went for the industrial look. The chairs are metal.”

The tables, which she had made, are built of repurposed wood.

Zopita’s on the Square will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

They will hold a soft opening the first week. “We may not have the full menu,” Palazola says.

Anna Palazola

Zopita’s on the Square

Anna Palazola

Zopita’s on the Square