Tag: Chris Vernon

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Cover Feature News

Memphis: Sports Talkin’

As a media market, Memphis ranks 51st in the United States, according to Nielsen, behind several cities of comparable size. However, when it comes to sports-talk radio, that rating number shoots up into the 20s. Much of that is based on the current success of one FM station, 92.9 WMFS, and its roster of talent — which includes Gary Parrish, the top-rated sports host in town. But it also has something to do with the fact that, as a format, sports-talk is as deeply ingrained in the Memphis community as the teams we follow. And that story starts with George Lapides.

Like most of the prominent sports-talk radio hosts in Memphis, Lapides (who died earlier this year of the rare lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) got his start in print journalism. As a former sports editor and columnist for the Memphis Press-Scimitar, which ceased publication in 1983, Lapides had imbedded himself in Memphis sports culture from the mid-’60s. But it wasn’t until 1971 that he launched his pioneering radio show, Sports Time, and truly found his calling. In some form or fashion, Sports Time with George Lapides ran continuously on Memphis airwaves for more than 45 years, making it the longest-running sports-talk show in history.

George Lapides

“George basically introduced the format to Memphis,” says Eli Savoie, the program director and midday host (with Greg Gaston) on Sports 56 AM, home to Lapides and Sports Time for the last two decades. “He was one of, if not the first, newspaper man to switch to radio; he showed it could be done. There isn’t a sports-talk host in Memphis who hasn’t crossed paths with George or been influenced by him.”

J.D. Reager

Geoff Calkins

“You couldn’t have a lot of ego, working with George,” says Geoff Calkins, the lead sports columnist for The Commercial Appeal, Lapides’ former co-host on 560 AM, and the current host of the 9 to 11 a.m. slot on 92.9. “He made it clear he ran the show, but we had a mutual respect for each other. We both had our roots in print journalism. I thought we played off each other well. As I have often said about George, I admire that he always thought of himself as a reporter, always cared about getting the story and getting the story right. That was as true at the end of his show as it was when he first began.” 

Those sentiments are echoed by another of Lapides’ longtime radio partners, and a Memphis radio legend in his own right, Dave Woloshin, who currently hosts the show in Lapides’ old time slot (7 to 10 a.m.) on 560 AM and has been the voice of the University of Memphis Tigers team for 25 years.

J.D. Reager

Dave Woloshin

“George’s legacy can be found at every station,” he says. “It cannot be overstated.”

What also cannot be overstated is how much 92.9 is kicking everyone else’s ass in the sports-talk ratings. The station’s Nielsen ratings are more than double those of 560 AM, and the other local sports station in town, 730 AM, doesn’t even chart. A lot of that comes from 92.9 FM’s strong FM signal (560 AM simulcasts on 87.7 FM, but the strength on that band is weak) and the fact that it’s the local ESPN affiliate and the flagship station of the Memphis Grizzlies.

“We suffered with them through the lean years,” says Savoie, whose station was the Grizzlies home when the team wasn’t winning. “It’s definitely an advantage for them.”

The Unconventional Approach

But there is another element that has contributed to 92.9’s sports-talk success: its hosts’ unconventional approach to the genre. For better or worse, the hosts on Sports 56 tend to stick more closely to a traditional format — news and stories related to sports — and rarely venture into social issues or pop culture. At 92.9 FM, those rules have gone out the window. On any given afternoon, you are as likely to hear Parrish discuss race politics or local restaurants or celebrity boobs as you are sports, and that has become part of his appeal.

“I think the biggest thing is that I’m a natural storyteller, and I’ve always been one,” says Parrish, whose show is on every weekday from 4 to 6 p.m. “Sitting at a cafeteria table as a kid, standing at a bar with friends as an adult, I could always tell a story. So that’s part of it, for sure. And everything is rooted in that. I also construct the show in a way that appeals to a larger audience than most sports shows. For instance, sometimes people will tweet me and tell me to ‘stick to sports.’ What they don’t realize is that I’m purposely not sticking to sports, and for two reasons: One, because I have interests outside of sports, and I enjoy discussing them. And, two, because I’m going to have sports fans listening no matter what. I’m on a sports station. So I’ve got sports fans no matter what. But, because I venture outside of sports so often, I also have non-sports fans listening.”

According to Brad Carson, the director of branding and sports programming at 92.9 FM and the on-air producer of The Gary Parrish Show, that approach isn’t just limited to Parrish. It’s practically become a station-wide mantra.

J.D. Reager

Brad Carson

“Along with being a brilliant storyteller, host, reporter, and entertainer, Gary gave us the opportunity to learn how to build our radio station and develop something fun, different, and compelling,” he says. “We encourage all of our hosts to be themselves.”

This stylistic difference isn’t lost on the competition, either. “The moniker of the station [560 AM] is ‘Real Sports,'” says Woloshin. “I can only do the show the way I know how. I’m all for talking about myself and my life, but sports is still the most important thing.”

“Free Verno”

If there’s a chink in 92.9 FM’s armor, it is the recent departure of one of the station’s most popular and outspoken hosts, Chris Vernon.

Vernon, who, like most local sports-talk radio personalities, got his start on 560 AM before leaving for greener pastures (first 730 AM, and eventually 92.9 FM), parted ways with the station in September, when an agreement on a contract extension could not be reached. And while the higher-ups at 92.9 FM have certainly tried to keep the negotiations and subsequent ill-will under wraps, Vernon and his rabid fanbase would not be denied. Before long, the hashtag “#FreeVerno” was trending on social media and personal shots were fired — mostly between Vernon and Dan Barron, general manager of Entercom, the radio conglomerate that operates 92.9 FM. The rift became irreparable.

J.D. Reager

Chris Vernon

“I knew I would eventually have other opportunities, and I didn’t like the fighting,” says Vernon. “After the way everything went down, I just thought [92.9 FM] wasn’t the place for me anymore. Whether I’ve been on AM or FM, big station or small, my fans have always been extremely loyal to me and my advertisers, so I knew I’d be fine wherever I ended up.”

For their part, the higher-ups at 92.9 FM are playing it, if not tight-lipped, at least fairly cool, when it comes to Vernon.

“There’s no animosity from our point of view,” says Carson. “He is a super talent, and we had a great working relationship throughout his time with us. Chris chose to move on and do something different. We respect that. He has different professional goals that will advance his career. I think often times in these scenarios some folks like to find a villain. There’s no villain here.”

Whether or not there’s a villain, one thing is clear: There is bad blood. And Parrish, who is both Vernon’s longtime friend (and, briefly, former co-host when the two were on 730 AM) and an inside observer of the situation, sees it clearly.

“I hated that it got so ugly, publicly, because on one side, I had a close friend, and on the other side was one of my employers,” he says. “I was very much in the middle of everything. It wasn’t fun. But, ultimately, Vernon did what he thought was best for his career, and then the station moved on as best it could. In the end, I think all parties will be fine. But those were a wild few weeks, absolutely.”

For those who are still wondering, Vernon has landed on his feet. He hosts a podcast version of The Chris Vernon Show as a part of Grind City Media, the Grizzlies’ new in-house media outlet, and produces viral videos to go along with it. He’s also doing a regular NBA podcast for nationally known sports reporter/author/TV-host Bill Simmons’ latest, post-ESPN media iteration, The Ringer, and doing Grizzlies pre- and post-game work.

“He [Simmons] and I met when the Grizzlies were in the NBA Western Conference finals in 2013,” says Vernon. “He was covering the games for ABC. We stayed in contact, and I had him on my show on 92.9 FM a few times. Everyone over there is cool.”

As for his Grind City Media podcast, it has been somewhat sporadic in its early stages, with shows varying in length and regularity. But the long-term plan is for the Grizzlies to build Vernon a studio — similar to what DirectTV did for former ESPN radio host and SportsCenter anchor Dan Patrick when it hired him away from the mothership — and have his show available as both a live internet TV show as well as an on-demand podcast.

“We found out the same way everybody else did that Vernon’s relationship with 92.9 FM didn’t work out,” says Jason Wexler, president of business operations for the Grizzlies and the head of Grind City Media. “Once he was available, it seemed logical to have a conversation with him and see what we could do together. We liked everything he brings to table — a dedicated audience, marketplace credibility, and a unique voice.”

“I don’t need to be on terrestrial radio anymore,” says Vernon. “Things are changing in radio. People are not on my time, they are on their own time. They listen to podcasts on-demand, when they want to. Traditional radio is dying.”

Jason and John

If traditional radio is dying, that’s news to 92.9 FM. To fill Vernon’s 11 to 2 p.m. slot, the station has turned to two fresh voices — both former Commercial Appeal sports reporters: John Martin and Jason Smith. The duo launched their show in October, and despite some rookie jitters early on, has started to establish its own voice on the airwaves.

J.D. Reager

Jason Smith

“I’ve been incredibly impressed,” says Calkins, who originally brought Martin in to the 92.9 FM fold as his on-air producer and has been a steadfast supporter of Smith over the years. “Let’s be honest, it was past time for the station to add an African-American host [Smith], and Jason is going to be a star. He’s connected, he’s thoughtful, and he’s fabulous on TV and radio. Although I had great regard for Jason as a colleague at The Commercial Appeal, I often wondered why he wasn’t doing TV or radio. He’s a natural. He’s both passionate and genuine. That’s a combination that will take him far.

“As for John, I wouldn’t have insisted on him as my producer if I didn’t think he had what it takes. In many ways, John is the engine of that show. So I knew the two of them would be good together, but I didn’t think they’d be this good, this fast.”

J.D. Reager

John Martin

Both Martin and Smith have acknowledged the immense challenge of filling Vernon’s shoes in a market where he was clearly beloved.

“I’ll tell you this: I didn’t want that job at first,” says Martin. “Are you kidding me? Did you see the response on social media? I didn’t want to follow Chris. I wanted my own show, but not if it meant having to step into that firestorm.”

“There is no replacing Verno,” agrees Smith. “All John and I can do is grind and try to put together the absolute best show we can each day.”

One thing that has helped Martin and Smith through their first few months together on the air is the steadying presence of Jon Roser, Vernon’s former producer/sidekick for 10 years. In fact, one could easily argue that breaking up the team of Vernon and Roser, who were the Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon of Memphis radio, was the biggest drawback of the “#FreeVerno” fallout. However, one host’s loss has turned into Martin and Smith’s gain.

“Jon Roser has been very helpful for Jason and John and has made great suggestions,” says Carson. “It helps that they are friends as well. Jon has encouraged Jason and John to grow the midday show.”

A Good Understanding

So for now, with Vernon gone and Roser working on a new show, Parrish and Carson have become 92.9 FM’s flagship duo. Their chemistry — probably best described as “mock-adversarial,” with the more liberal, free-wheeling Parrish lightly (and, at times, not-so-lightly) picking on the more straight-laced Carson for a litany of differences in opinion — essentially drives the show and feels unforced. But it wasn’t always this easy for them.

“Brad and I have a really good understanding of each other now, and he knows how to be my producer,” says Parrish. “Did it take us a little while to develop that? Yeah, I’m sure it did. But we’re super comfortable together now. He’s very good at producing my show and being a character on my show.”

And for his part, Carson seems completely game to play Parrish’s straight man and occasional whipping boy. At least, as long as the ratings stay high.

“I don’t think Gary is tough on me at all,” he says. “The perceived differences and commonality between us, almost as if we were a married couple, are fascinating to people, I think. It was something totally different in Memphis.”

“I can’t tell you how many people have told me they don’t really care about sports but listen to the show anyway,” says Parrish. “Which is something I love to hear, because it suggests what I’m doing is working the way I intend it to work.”

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Letter From The Editor Opinion

Grit and Bare It

CREDIT: Poster by 816 Creative

On September 24th, Commercial Appeal Grizzlies beat writer Ron Tillery wrote a column previewing the team’s prospects at the center position for 2016. Astute readers could see that Tillery, who’s been covering the Grizzlies since the team’s arrival in Memphis in 2001, was a bit miffed.

He wrote, for example: “Several weeks after the Commercial Appeal learned about Marc Gasol’s return to full basketball activities and requested an interview with the center, the Grizzlies released an ‘injury update’ on their website.

“The report confirmed what the Commercial Appeal learned. The only difference is the franchise wouldn’t allow Gasol to speak with the newspaper. Instead, Gasol produced a statement on the Grizzlies’ website.”

Tillery mentioned the lack of access to Gasol a couple more times in his column, attributing another quote from him, thusly: “… Gasol, as told to the Grizzlies website several weeks after declining an interview request by the Commercial Appeal.”

It may be a sign of things to come. Last Friday, the Grizzlies introduced their new branded-content website, Grind City Media, and announced that they’d hired a writer — highly respected former ESPN columnist Mike Wallace — to create content about the team. The team also hired popular sports-talk radio host Chris Vernon (who recently split with ESPN 92.9 FM) to air his show via Grind City Media.

Nothing particularly wrong with any of this, of course. Increasingly, organizations of various kinds are seeking to control their image and the public’s perceptions of their operation. It’s also another way to monetize the Grizzlies brand.

Similar outfits abound in Memphis, including Higher Ground, Choose 901, Thrillist, and other websites that paint a relentlessly upbeat picture of the city and its businesses. Politicians are also in on the trend, using social media — Twitter, Facebook, and even Instagram — to promote themselves. Mayor Strickland, for example, writes a weekly email, chronicling his administration’s accomplishments and activities.

Again, nothing wrong with any of this. Except that the public is increasingly being challenged to discern if what they’re reading or listening to or watching was created to push an agenda (or sell tickets or promote the chamber of commerce or garner votes) or if it’s attempting to be objective. Branded content is at its core, public relations, committed to blowing sunshine up your posterior. Journalism, conversely, is committed to reporting all sides, the good and the bad. It’s important that we, as media consumers, know the difference.

When it comes to the Grizzlies, I get it: Sports reporting is entertainment reporting, for the most part — the toy department of journalism. But real — or at least, embarrassing — stories do happen, stories that, say, an NBA franchise might not want getting out to the public. Mike Wallace, for all his admitted talent, won’t be writing about locker-room dissension or scraps on the team plane. He won’t be criticizing the coach’s bench decisions or the front office’s deals. That’s where Tillery or our Kevin Lipe or Chris Herrington or other local sports reporters come in.

The hope is, of course, that the two information streams will overlap and intersect and ultimately expand the reportage on the team to the benefit of its fans. The fear, at least for local sports-media types, is that the team will restrict access to reporters in favor of giving interviews and “scoops” to its own content providers. That kind of adversarial relationship won’t go well for anyone — fans, reporters, and ultimately, the team itself.

As Memphis’ only professional sports franchise, the Grizzlies are a civic asset that brings us the joy of victory, the sweet agony of defeat, the intrigue of locker-room drama, and the god-given right to second-guess the coach. The team would be wise to recognize that we’re big enough to handle all of it. And so are they.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Sports Talk on the Menu

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Memphis is a town of many deep-rooted sports interests. Between the University of Memphis Tigers basketball and football programs, the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA, et al, sports fandom in Memphis is as passion-filled and potentially divisive a subject as religious faith. And as revered as these teams and institutions are, so too are the newsbreakers and speculators that populate the local sports talk radio airwaves and newspaper pages. Inevitably, these sports media figures are recognized for their talents and influence in numerous ways, including the illustrious honor of having menu items named for them at local restaurants.

Chef Kelly English’s The Second Line features a po’boy sandwich called the Verno on its menu, a tribute to 92.9 FM midday radio host and Grizzlies TV commentator Chris Vernon. According to Vernon, the naming of the sandwich came from an on-air football bet between himself and Chef English.

“The deal was, the Cowboys and Saints were playing. This was before The Second Line opened,” he says. “If the Cowboys won, he had to name a sandwich after me. If the Saints won, I had to say ‘Go Saints’ coming in and out of every segment on my show. The Saints absolutely destroyed the Cowboys, but he named the thing after me anyway.”

The sandwich is built on a generous base of braised and shredded chicken thighs, topped with melted Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on crusty French-style bread.

Justin Fox Burks

The Verno from The Second Line

“I love it,” Vernon says. “Kelly English is one of the best chefs in America, and there is a sandwich on his menu named after me. There’s not a week that goes by that someone doesn’t text or tweet me about that sandwich. It’s unbelievable.”

The menu at Republic Coffee boasts its own sports journalist-tribute item, a breakfast sandwich formerly known as the “Ahab.” “It’s funny, you always think that if you are going to have a sandwich named for you, that you would get to design the sandwich, or at least be asked if you want a sandwich named for you,” says Geoff Calkins, the lead sports columnist for The Commercial Appeal and a morning radio host on 92.9. “But that didn’t happen in my case.”

In fact, Calkins didn’t realize that the Calkins — large hunks of smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, and onions, all packed inside slices of a toasted everything bagel — even existed until he walked in to Republic one afternoon after talking about great Memphis sandwiches on his radio show, and the barista asked him why he didn’t mention his own sandwich.

“I had no idea. Apparently they re-named it after me because I ordered it so much,” Calkins says. “I think I might have singlehandedly kept it on the menu.”

“The fact that I had a sandwich made Gary [Parrish] extremely jealous,” he adds, half-jokingly. “That’s how he got his sushi roll. He lobbied on the air to get it because he was jealous of me.”

Parrish, the evening drive-time host on 92.9 and a national columnist and TV analyst for CBS Sports, denies the claim.

“I would never be jealous of a man who turned a Harvard Law degree into a newspaper job,” he says, returning the jibe. “In all seriousness, that may have been where the whole bit actually started.”

Justin Fox Burks

The G. Parrish Anxiety Disorder at Bluefin

The bit Parrish is referring to was an on-air monologue about not understanding “anonymous donors” and wanting his name on everything, including fast-food items, buildings, etc. This resonated with the folks at Bluefin.

“Fast-forward a few weeks. I’m in Bluefin with some friends, and one of the managers approached me as I was walking out,” Parrish says. “He said he listens to the show and would love to design a roll with me and slap my name on it. Next thing you know, it’s on the menu.”

Dubbed the G. Parrish Anxiety Disorder, Parrish’s namesake roll is a kitchen-sink creation with tempura shrimp, crab, and cream cheese inside, topped with smoked salmon, avocado, eel sauce, and, most crucially, spicy Sriracha, which cuts through the richness of the other ingredients. Not surprisingly, the roll has become one of the restaurant’s most popular items.

“I’m genuinely and oddly proud of how everything has turned out,” Parrish says. “I honestly thought this would just be something that might be funny to me and only me for a few weeks or months, and then they’d change the menu and it would just go away. But here we are, all these years later, and it’s still there.”

Of course, anyone who has listened to sports talk radio in Memphis for more than a few minutes is surely familiar with the legendary George Lapides, currently a morning host on Sports 56. Lapides has been covering sports in print and on the air in this town for longer than some of his colleagues have been alive.

It is very fitting that Germantown Cajun restaurant Mister B’s offers a dish bearing his name, the George Lapides Special. Lapides has long been a spokesman for the eatery — for my money, “I want to tell you about Mister B’s” is up there with “I don’t think the Cardinals will ever win/lose another game” and “I want to play” in the pantheon of George-isms. He is also, in fact, the inventor of the dish.

“I used to always get a cup of the crawfish etouffee as an appetizer, and I knew they had wild rice as a side” Lapides says. “One night I asked my server to fix me a big, dinner-sized plate of wild rice, with the etouffee poured on top.”

And the results?

“Oh, it’s fabulous,” he says. “It was just a word-of-mouth thing at first, but people started ordering it so much they put it on the menu. It looks strange to me to see it, but I don’t mind.”

Not to be outdone, the radio voice of the Grizzlies and afternoon host on 92.9, Eric Hasseltine, has his own signature menu item as well: a dessert-y cocktail at the soda fountain inside A. Schwab‘s called the Eric Hasseltine Cherry. The drink is simple but effective — and delicious. Think of a lighter, sweeter version of a Manhattan; house-made cherry syrup, bourbon, and bitters poured over “Sonic-style” ice nuggets in an old-fashioned soda glass, topped with fizzy soda.

“It’s very flattering,” Hasseltine says. “I’m not a huge partier anymore, but I’ve always been a whiskey guy. Sometimes I’m disappointed they aren’t open later so I could go in and get one after a game.”