Tag: FedExForum

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Watanabe, Conley, Gasol, Jackson Speak Out at Grizzlies Media Day

Memphis inched closer to the return of Grizzlies basketball with media day on Monday. There were a couple of themes that ran throughout, including youth meshing with veteran leadership in the locker room, and the international media’s infatuation with Japanese basketball star and two-way signee Yuta Watanabe. Here are some major takeaways (both basketball-related and not) from some key players.

Dillon Brooks seemed relaxed and focused. He cracked a couple good jokes while saying everything you’d want to hear from a dynamic young guard looking to take the next step as a player.

Watanabe, Conley, Gasol, Jackson Speak Out at Grizzlies Media Day (4)

Asked about Marc and Mike getting older, Dillon Brooks said the Grizzlies have a lot of youth. “It’s like when grandma and grandpa get a new grandbaby: it gives them new life.” Despite literally calling them grandparents, Brooks expressed gratitude for Conley and Gasol. From Gasol getting drafted by the Lakers and traded to Memphis, and how he’s changed his bod, to Mike Conley getting drafted 4th overall and experiencing a slow start to his career (where often he’d only play in home games), Dillon said they’ve been like mentors, sharing the wisdom they’ve gained from their adversities.

Jaren Jackson Jr. opened his inaugural media day appearance by saying he’s excited for the new Young Thug album, and that casual ebullience characterized much of his interview and presence. When asked about his first post-contract luxury purchase, Jaren answered without hesitation: “Scorpion,” by Drake. He followed that up by saying he’s actually going to take it easy on luxury purchases.
Matt Preston

One thing that frequently bothers me in the NBA world is the lack of representation for Memphis in the league’s TV promos, League Pass commercials, etc. I know Memphis is a small market, but the Grizzlies just drafted a theoretical unicorn with the fourth pick, and he had an amazing Summer League outing. So why is Jaren Jackson conspicuously absent from promos that tease the incoming rookie class? When I asked Jaren about this, he was at a loss for words, and said he doesn’t pay much attention to sports on TV, lauding Netflix instead.

Watanabe, Conley, Gasol, Jackson Speak Out at Grizzlies Media Day (3)

I asked Jackson what he’s currently into on Netflix, and that kick started a lengthy aside about Ozark, and trying to remember a particular episode with another reporter. In some small way, I feel partly responsible for 40 percent of JJJ’s appearance being Ozark-related, but it was a fun glimpse into Jackson’s easygoing and easy-to-talk-to personality. But don’t let Jackson’s amiable spirit mislead you.

Leading up to training camp, Jackson says he’s focused on conditioning, improving his shot, and being aggressive and explosive. While he amicably interrupted a couple other player interviews to bust chops or crack a joke, you get the sense that he’s an open, positive, and constructive communicator, and the Grizzlies hope to see that translate into being a vocal leader and defender on the court. For what it’s worth, Conley said Jackson’s already a pretty good leader in his appearance. Speaking of…

Matt Preston

Conley appeared to be in good spirits, and there’s plenty of positive buzz about his health. Responding to questions about the Grizzlies’ dismal year last season, Conley said “last year was an anomaly,” remarking on the all the consecutive playoff appearances in years prior. Conley also talked about helping younger players in the locker room, giving them advice on staying out of trouble, and the importance of nutrition and adequate sleep

Gasol spent a decent amount of his time fielding questions about saving lives and helping refugees stranded in the Mediterranean Sea. He said his love for his young daughter motivated him to get involved with helping refugee children in the off-season, and truly seems to have experienced something that was bigger than basketball and bigger than himself. Gasol said he wants to sit down with someone in the media and have a longer conversation about the issue.
Matt Preston

Gasol also mentioned he’s heard the criticism that he’s too harsh on his teammates when they make mistakes, and plans to adjust his leadership to be more supportive in that regard. Just don’t ask him to be even slightly okay with lapses on defense.

Matt Preston

Kyle Anderson said he’s ready to take on more pressure and responsibility in Memphis, and showed the old grit-n-grind Grizzlies a lot of love and respect (having played against Memphis as a San Antonio Spur). He believes that playing with Pau taught him how to move off the ball, and prepared him to play with Marc. Maybe they’ll have quick chemistry?

Matt Preston

On an unsurprising note, Garrett Temple confirmed that he found out about his move to Memphis from NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski, with his agent calling to confirm minutes afterward. Temple said he’s excited to join a team that wants to win now, and expects the Grizzlies to make the playoffs. Temple came across every bit the well-composed veteran, which is interesting, because his locker borders Jackson’s. “Most of the time he’s smiling and laughing and telling us about rappers he likes,” Temple said of Jackson.

Matt Preston

Monday was JB Bickerstaff’s first Grizzlies media day as head coach, and he was dialed-in heading into his first training camp. He pushed back harder than anyone at notions of Gasol and Conley beginning their decline. It’ll be interesting to see how this team looks out of the gate and into the mid-season, especially if the Grizzlies manage to avoid the Injury Vortex.

Watanabe, Conley, Gasol, Jackson Speak Out at Grizzlies Media Day (2)

And finally, the one, the only, Yuta Watanabe. His presence was felt long before he even entered the room. It felt like half the media present at media day were reporters from Japan, solely there because of the 6’9″ international sensation. His name bled into almost every player interview, as the international reporters asked everyone on the team about their thoughts on Watanabe.
Watanabe went out of his way to thank his family and friends for their support. One of his favorite players to watch growing up was Shaq, he said, and while he hasn’t had any BBQ in Memphis, he has been to Sekisui.

Watanabe, Conley, Gasol, Jackson Speak Out at Grizzlies Media Day

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Shelby County Commission: A for Effort

There’s no doubt about it. The Shelby County Commission, in a current configuration that is about to expire because of the forthcoming August election, has taken bold steps to confront the established order of things.

As of August, when a minimum of eight members of the 13-member body are due to be replaced because of the county charter’s term-limits provision, the newly elected county legislature may not be so forward about things. But let’s enjoy this rebellion while it lasts and hope that the precedents it sets will inspire the newcomers of the next four-year term to similar innovation.

This commission has achieved results in numerous spheres by challenging custom and by pioneering in new directions. It has established task forces on such problems as the under-representation of women and ethnic minorities in county contracting, and those ad hoc bodies, fueled by the commission’s own disparity report, have made enormous progress in rectifying inequalities that had been taken for granted for decades.

The body elected four years ago, in 2014, has also managed to aggressively re-order its relationship with the county administration, challenging it on matters of financial oversight, among others, and, while neither branch of county government is always right and always deserving of having its opinion honored in the conduct of county business, the commission’s self-assertiveness has forced a more or less continuing dialogue on key matters. The recent establishment of a trans-governmental initiative to combat the plague of opioid addiction had its origins in actions taken by the commission, later court-approved, that forced the hand of the county administration and enticed city government and law enforcement agencies at large to come aboard.

And such re-ordering of priorities that has taken place has left undisturbed the ongoing focus on reducing county debt that Mayor Mark Luttrell has made an overriding administration goal.

This past week has seen yet another bold step by the commission. Confronted by the wish of Elvis Presley Enterprises to expand its campus to include a new, modestly sized arena so as to attract musical acts and other entertainments that would otherwise go south across the Mississippi state line or to Little Rock or Nashville, the commission was faced by the stated reluctance of the Grizzlies, backed by the city of Memphis, to give an inch on the terms of a strictly binding operating agreement that currently would prohibit the construction of an arena, containing more than 5,000 seats, that might be construed as competing with FedExForum, where the Grizzlies have proprietary status.  

Heidi Shafer

Instead of knuckling under on the matter, the commission voted on Monday to upgrade EPE’s share of revenues from an ongoing TIF, thereby allowing the arena construction, contingent (and that’s the operative term) on the courts recognizing the expansion as consistent with the terms of the aforesaid operating agreement with the Grizzlies. That seems both a progressive and a cautious way of probing for a solution that solves the Solomonic problem of having to satisfy what commission Chair Heidi Shafer referred to on Monday as “two favorite children.”

This strategy may work and it may not, but it was worth the effort to give it a try.

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News News Blog

Graceland to Contest Grizzlies’ Non-Compete Clause in Court

CREDIT: Elvis Presley Enterprises

Elvis Presley Enterprises

Rendering of original proposed event center


Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) is legally challenging the Memphis Grizzlies’ non-compete agreement that is blocking it from adding a concert hall to Graceland.

The Grizzlies’ FedexForum use agreement with the city bans other publically-funded places in the city from holding concerts with more than 5,000 attendees, but EPE has filed a declaratory judgement action with the Chancery Court of Shelby County to contest that, officials announced Wednesday.

After EPE agreed to change its plans from constructing a 6,200-seat concert hall to a multi-purpose facility between 50,000 and 75,000 square feet, City officials said they would still have the ability to sue for any damages caused to the city if the Grizzlies were to leave Memphis.

EPE officials also say that a representative for the Grizzlies told the enterprise that even if the multi-purpose facility is permitted, it would have usage limitations until the end of the franchise’s agreement with the FedexForum.

However, EPE’s statement points out that the proposed multi-purpose facility is “substantially similar to the facility now proposed by the city of Memphis for the Fairgrounds,” which would operate with no limitations.

“Since no reasonable business person would have agreed to these two limitations, Elvis Presley Enterprises was left with no choice but to protect both itself and the city of Memphis by filing a declaratory judgment action, so that it can move forward with its business plans, continue to invest heavily in the Graceland campus in the Whitehaven community of Memphis, and bring more jobs and increase tourism in the community, Greater Memphis and Shelby County,” EPE’s statement read.

Depending on the court’s ruling, EPE will move forward with it’s original proposal for the 6,200 seat space or the multi-purpose facility. The original $50 million proposal also includes additional museum and retail spaces.

In response to EPE’s decision, the city’s chief legal officer Bruce McMullen issued a statement calling EPE’s press release “misleading.” The city’s statement reads:

“At the center of this issue is whether the City of Memphis would violate the non-complete clause in the contract with the Memphis Grizzlies by using public money to finance a concert or convention center venue that competes with [the] FedexForum.

The City has worked in good faith to attempt to negotiate with Elvis Presley Enterprises to find a suitable resolution for its concerns. The administration is shocked that EPE would use a misleading press statement and a lawsuit to try [to] advance its position in the negotiations.

We don’t object to Graceland building a 6,200-seat venue. That option is available to it without the use of public funds, and it is free to do so.”

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

Down to Grizzness!

Growl towels up if you’re ready for Grizzness. I’m ready to shiver and complain in the hand-wand line and get startled by some pyrotechnics. It’s been too long. Make room in the cupboard for some new souvenir cups because the NBA regular season is here. Finally.

I’ve upped my dosage of sports takes in anticipation of the firehose of of basketball news and analysis I’ll be consuming. Podcasts. Websites. Vines. Periscopes. Whatever. Give me all of it. I welcome our new digital overlords at Grind City Media. Some media members have groused about access and message control, which is very noble of them. Here’s the thing though: Consumers don’t care where the content comes from, as long as it’s hot. The Grizzlies recognize that, and the fans will eat it up. Adrian Wojnarowski is the most connected and trusted basketball writer in the country, and he works for your grandma’s email service provider. The Salt Lake Tribune‘s Jazz reporter broke a story about the Grizzlies’ roster over the weekend. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. And pass the content.

Anyway, the Core Four is back. They may or may not be “better than ever,” but at least they aren’t all sporting the dreaded “suits and boots” uniforms on the bench. Marc Gasol logged the third-highest number of minutes last season but only appeared in 52 games — four more than Mike Conley. By March, I was convinced the roster existed for the purpose of stumping sports trivia players. Matt Barnes — yeah, that Matt Barnes — played more than anybody, and I forgot he was even on the team. Remember Bryce Cotton? I don’t, but Basketball Reference says he played six minutes for the Grizzlies last season. Former Tiger Elliot Williams scored eight points. Jordan Farmar was the starting point guard in the playoffs. Much ink has been spilled over the unprecedented number of players who dressed out in the home locker room at 191 Beale. I’m proud of all of them, but let’s just say those games won’t be airing on Hardwood Classics anytime soon.

Offseason additions to the team appear to be solid NBA-caliber players. One of them, allegedly, is capable of scoring three-point baskets with a frequency to which Grizzlies fans are unaccustomed. I’m optimistic even if it means I have to reprogram my allegiances after years of hating Chandler Parsons. At least the reasons are purely basketball-related, because he routinely torched the Grizzlies and made me resent the fact that they never had an answer for him. (Again, don’t hate the player.) I’m not proud of some of the things I’ve said about him, such as the time I called him “ole lululemon tights looking faceass.” Or the time I tweeted that he “looks like a guy who spends at least 15 minutes a day practicing sexy faces and flexing in front of a mirror.” But I’m ready to take it all back. Hopefully, he can get and stay healthy and hit some of the same shots that made me hate his guts. Also, I acknowledge that compression apparel improves circulation, and I can’t fault a man for knowing he looks good. If you can’t beat ’em, sign ’em.

Not only are there new free agents, there are rookies too! Including the coach, who might actually be an upgrade over the previous coach. Look, Joerger did a fine job, and he’s a good coach. He had a couple of inexplicable pet players, but it isn’t as though he had a ton of stars to hitch to that wagon last season. Like everyone else, I was surprised when he was fired, but if he doesn’t want to be here, well, bye. Memphis ain’t for everybody.

From the interviews I’ve seen and read, David Fizdale appears to have measured the pulse of the team and the city pretty quickly. A place like Memphis, with all its nuances, is a good fit for the wokest coach in the NBA. Supposedly, he develops players, so maybe we’ll get to see some young dudes used for purposes other than trade bait. If he can implement his harebrained ideas, we’ll be in for some fun, weird basketball, just how we like it. Marc Gasol shooting threes? Well, okay. Tony Allen, backup point guard? Ya crazy for this one, Fizz.

I love the clean-slate, first-day-of-school vibe of a new season. It really feels like this is the year. It’s become so much more reliable over the past few years, and I just have a hunch Grizzlies fans are going to enjoy 48 consistent minutes every night of working wifi in FedExForum.

Oh, did you think I was talking about something else?

Jen Clarke has a few ideas. Read them at jensized.com

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 63, Cincinnati 59

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Thirty-nine hours after their most dispiriting loss of the season, the Tigers secured their biggest win to date. With double-doubles from Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson (each had 20 points and 11 rebounds), the U of M never trailed Cincinnati and avoided what would have been the first three-game losing streak in seven years under coach Josh Pastner. Junior guard Avery Woodson drained a three-pointer from the right wing after the Bearcats’ Troy Caupain had closed the Memphis lead to one with 1:45 left in the game. He and Ricky Tarrant Jr. combined to hit four free throws in the game’s final 15 seconds to lock up the victory. And the win couldn’t be more of a relief, particularly for Pastner.
Larry Kuzniewski

Dedric Lawson

“We just needed to start fresh,” said Pastner, who spent almost the entire game seated in his chair on the Memphis bench. “Nine-game [regular] season, let’s see how it goes. No regrets. Let’s leave it on the floor, have fun, have toughness. New day, new season. Let the chips fall where they fall. We had a good practice yesterday, and a good team meeting. The guys responded. All credit goes to the players. That’s not an easy situation to play in: two-game losing streak, tons of negativity, and a quick turnaround against a very good Cincinnati team.”

Among the players who responded with the greatest impact was swingman Trahson Burrell, back in the rotation after a one-game disciplinary suspension. Burrell contributed nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block . . . and could have played better (he missed 11 of 14 attempts from the field). He exuded the positive energy his coach craves after the game. “I love Coach P,” said Burrell. “He’s looked out for me the last two years; helped me become a man.”

Freshman Craig Randall made his first start for the Tigers (in place of Sam Craft). Pastner said he wanted to “get a look” at Randall in the interests of relieving the minutes load Tarrant has carried all season. Randall’s only two points were the first two of the game. He delivered a pair of assists in 12 minutes on the floor. (Tarrant only took one shot from the field and played just 18 minutes.)

Similar to Thursday night against Connecticut, the Tigers played much better in the first half than they did in the second. But their halftime lead today (15 points) proved to be just enough for the win, despite only six field goals made in the second half. Memphis outrebounded the Bearcats, 49-38, and made 18 of 24 free throws. The Tigers committed 13 turnovers, seven fewer than in the loss to the Huskies.

Memphis improves to 14-9 for the season and 5-5 in the American Athletic Conference, while Cincinnati falls to 17-7 (7-4). The Tigers and Bearcats have split their two meetings each of the last two seasons. Caupain led Cincinnati with 17 points and Gary Clark added 15.

The U of M hits the road for its next two games, at Houston (Wednesday) and at Tulane (next Saturday).

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

The Ides of February

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

The games must be played. However uncomfortable the next six weeks may become for the Memphis Tigers and their beleaguered head coach, at least 11 games remain on the schedule (counting at least one in the American Athletic Conference tournament). As of this writing, the Tigers are 13-8 with a 4-4 mark that has them tied for seventh place in the 11-team AAC. If the empty seats at FedExForum and calls for Josh Pastner’s job have been unsettling to this point, just wait for the reaction to a nosedive — if a nosedive occurs — while 68 other programs book tickets for next month’s Big Dance.

Last Saturday’s loss at SMU can be viewed one of two ways. Glass half full: The Mustangs are a tier above every other team in the AAC (as the standings indicate), making a loss — even a blowout — on the team’s home floor nothing worthy of teeth-grinding. Glass half empty: The dramatic gap in talent between the SMU roster and the one at Pasner’s disposal accentuates how far this program has fallen, and how large the gap has become between reality as a Memphis Tiger and the dreams of a Sweet 16 (let alone Final Four) appearance.

Larry Kuzniewski

Shaq Goodwin: ‘We’ll man up.’

Forget the Tigers’ horrid record against ranked teams under Pastner. For now, the U of M program needs to find ways to merely beat its own league’s elite: SMU, Connecticut, and Cincinnati. Since moving to the AAC from Conference USA in 2013, the Tigers are now 4-12 against this trio of league exemplars. You can’t compete for national championships unless you can compete for your conference title. Which makes this week at FedExForum maybe the biggest two-game home stand of the 38-year-old Pastner’s career. Sweep Connecticut (here Thursday) and Cincinnati (Saturday) and the Tigers will find themselves at worst tied in the loss column with the Huskies and Bearcats this time next week. Split these games or (teeth-grinding time) lose both, and we can consider the nosedive underway. This is the collateral effect of the home loss to East Carolina on January 24th. Memphis must knock off a team it’s not expected to beat. One, at the very least.

Can the Tigers sweep this week’s contests? So much must happen to counter what we’ve seen of late. Freshman star Dedric Lawson is averaging 14.4 points and 9.0 rebounds this season, but averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 boards in the Tigers’ two narrow losses at UConn and Cincinnati last month. Lawson must make a difference against an AAC power before we can consider him truly among the best freshmen in Tiger history. Trahson Burrell must be the player who came an assist shy of a triple-double in the loss to ECU, and not the one who disappeared (eight points, two rebounds, no assists) at SMU. And the Tigers simply must find offensive support for their “Big Three” of Lawson, Shaq Goodwin, and Ricky Tarrant Jr. Two starters against the Mustangs — Sam Craft and Markel Crawford — failed to score. “Organizing” the team (Craft’s specialty) and marking the opponent’s top gun (Crawford’s) are important, but Tiger opponents have taken to sagging on Lawson and Goodwin. Points must be generated elsewhere.

Surely the Tigers welcome turning a page on the calendar, having finished a 4-5 January highlighted only by the narrow win over Temple at home and a road beatdown of UCF. Pastner and his staff would be wise to erase (or hide) any indication of the January stumble-fest. Make February a season within a season. Take the two big games this week, then focus on winning four — if not five — of the remaining six. (SMU comes to town February 25th). Six wins this month would put the team on the cusp of 20 when we next turn the calendar to March where college basketball’s elite are separated from the hoi polloi.

This team knows what’s being said about its performances to date. “I’ve been here a while,” said Goodwin after the Temple win, “and I know how they do Coach Pastner. My sophomore year, I asked him why, and he said, ‘You gotta win. You gotta win big games.’ We’ll accept that. We’ll man up on that. But we pay attention to it, and we’ll get it right once we get on a winning streak.”

If a winning streak is to happen for the 2015-16 Memphis Tigers it will start this month. Would it be enough to erase January, to lower the temperature on Josh Pastner’s hot seat? Come Thursday night, we’ll have some answers. 

Categories
Opinion Viewpoint

Sit! Stay!

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

I saw a fantastic play at the Orpheum last month.

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I saw about three-fourths of a fantastic play. I left once I figured out how it was going to end. Because, you know, traffic and stuff.

Larry Kuzniewski

Hannibal Buress was hilarious at Minglewood Hall a few weeks ago. From what I saw, at least. I left early because it was raining. Gotta beat those crowds, right?

I know what you’re probably thinking. “Wow, this woman is a real piece of work. Why go at all, if you’re not going to stay until the end? That’s dumb. And rude.”

Yup. Sure is.

Other than the part about Buress being hilarious, I made that stuff up. I would never leave a play before the final curtain. I wouldn’t leave a concert before the house lights went up.

And I sure as hell wouldn’t leave a Grizzlies game early — and neither should you. Especially when they’re winning. Especially during the playoffs.

Despite five straight years of playoff appearances, the Grizzlies haven’t been rewarded with the respect they deserve beyond the hometown. Instead, we get to read yet another round of articles titled “Don’t Sleep On the Grizzlies.”

Because “It’s a small market.” Because “People want to watch superstars.” Because “They play ugly, old-school basketball.”

Blah, blah, blah.

Memphis’ roots in the NBA may be shallow, but the city’s relationship with that orange ball is deep. If Z-Bo’s twerk moves in the post, Marc’s off-the-charts hoops acumen, and the Grindfather’s general chaos aren’t entertaining enough for you, well, I don’t know what to tell you. Sorry your life is so boring.

Here in We Don’t Bluff City, we know the Grizzlies belong. But some fans aren’t helping our Beale Street Bears prove it when they can’t even stay in the building for the full 48 minutes. Let other teams’ fans look like jerks on TV. We can be better.

The families who leave at halftime to put the kids in bed? I get it. Bless them and their little future season ticket holders. They weren’t the ones filing out of the Grindhouse during Game 2 against Portland while several minutes remained in the fourth quarter.

As I stood to let an older couple out of my row, I secretly rooted for the Blazers to mount a comeback. Not enough to win it, of course — just enough to teach those fans a lesson. To remind them that in the NBA — as Kevin Garnett once famously declared — anything is possible. He may not have looked like much against the Grizzlies, but Damian Lillard has killed before. (Just ask the 2014 Houston Rockets.)

I don’t remember much about Miami’s improbable Game 6 comeback in the 2013 NBA Finals, but I sure remember shaking my head at all the Heat fans shown pounding on the doors and pleading to be allowed back into AmericanAirlines Arena. Think they still bail out early?

It pays to stick around for the final buzzer, if only for the sheer joy of the glorious, quintessentially Memphis moments that follow: Streamers rain from the rafters, and DJ Khaled’s voice fills the building, declaring that all our beloved Grizzlies do is win, win, win, no matter what. The sound of thousands of elated fans pouring into the lobby, high-fiving amid chants of “Z-BO! Z-BO!” is as sweet as a giggling baby. If I could bottle that feeling, I’d be an instant bajillionaire.

What’s the rush? Downtown Memphis does not suddenly become New Delhi after a Grizzlies game. We may not know what the lever next to the steering wheel does, other than make a weird clicking sound, but we have it pretty good when it comes to traffic. “Beating the traffic” saves you about 10 minutes. You’ll spend more time waiting for a table at Babalu on a Saturday night than you will sitting in post-game traffic.

Oh, but you have to work in the morning? So do all the other 18,000-plus people here. That’s why coffee exists. There are three locally owned coffee shops on Cooper Street alone.

FedExForum is vaulting up the ranks of the league’s best playoff environments, thanks to a lot of dedicated people who work their asses off. They’re on the court with GRIZZLIES on their chests and numbers on their backs. They’re playing soundbytes and dancing at center court. They’re sharing Zach Randolph’s Deep Dish Thoughts and dropping giant banners to proclaim “WE GRIND HERE.” They’re growling those three magic words, “SHOT CLOCK … VIOLATED!” They’re flipping off trampolines in Elvis costumes. They’re scrambling to get a growl towel on every chair before the doors open. Do them the honor of sticking around for the whole show.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The Rant

CREDIT: Katie Nesling | Dreamstime.com

Katie Nesling | Dreamstime.com

Okay, so maybe I spent one too many Saturday nights riding around in a van airbrushed with a pot leaf motif to understand all this, but why do I keep seeing disturbing headlines about the FIFA World Cup. To tell you the truth, the real, honest truth, I wasn’t even sure what this was, so, yes, I did a quick Google search and learned that

FIFA stands for “Fédération Internationale de Football Association.” And all this time in the back of my mind, I thought this was a soccer championship. So is it football or soccer? Or is football in other countries what we consider to be soccer in the United States, further separating us from the rest of civilization?

Actually, it really doesn’t matter to me if it’s football or soccer. I don’t keep up with either. I used to watch New York Yankees baseball games sometimes but now that Derek Jeter is retiring, why bother? I also used to be a huge Grizzlies fan until they traded Shane Battier. Oh, I still love them and root for them and all that stuff but I’m still bitter. Very, very bitter about that trade. Plus, I have a really difficult time in FedExForum.

I have, oh, four or five hundred different neuroses when it comes to height and motion. I have nightmares about heights almost every single night. It usually involves being in a glass elevator that begins to horribly malfunction on its descent from the top floor to the lobby. It becomes detached from its main cable and swirls around the high-rise hotel in a circular motion while plummeting to the ground. Sometimes my nightmares involve driving. I don’t drive on the interstate — or anywhere else for that matter — more than 45 miles per hour. I have some kind of physical reaction to it that renders me almost to a state of vertigo. Bridges: Uh, no. No driving over even small bridges. When I go to Harbor Town, I have to drive all the way around Mud Island down Second Street into that weird sort of inner-city rural area and back around down the street along the river until I get to the entrance where the leasing office is, and then I get completely lost trying to find wherever I am going. It’s a beautiful place to be lost but it still throws off my equilibrium. But back to FedExForum and all that commotion that goes on in there. For me, there is way too much going on at one time, with all of the music and noise and lights and speakers and such. I used to do fairly well at The Pyramid but FedExForum, even with seats near the court, is sensory overload for me. And, yes, I know most people love it, as they should, and it’s just me. I went to see Elton John there a year or so ago and was in one of those private suites, but I still had to hold onto something while trying to get up to it. And, once seated, if I looked up at the very top seats in the arena, my legs turned to ice from the kneecaps down. I also recently went to a Memphis Redbirds game. A foul ball slammed into the section where I was sitting (yes, in a suite again, watching it through the glass), and I felt like a cat with one life less than the nine I was given. But it was fun. Other than almost being killed or living the rest of my life in a home for the sports-injured.

But I digress. I digress a lot. It doesn’t take a lot to make my attention span scatter all over the place. So back to the World Cup and God and murders. I keep seeing stories about places in the Middle East, where huge groups of people watching the World Cup are being attacked and killed by terrorists. I even saw one story about an Italian man who murdered his wife and two kids just before leaving to go watch the World Cup at a bar with his friends. There are tanks at the Rio de Janeiro main airport, in anticipation of angry scenes after airport workers announced a 24-hour wildcat strike. There are angry protests in Sao Paulo. And then, there is this news report from Iraq: “Shocking footage has emerged showing Sunni insurgents of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) beheading a police officer. In the clip, the militants knock on the door of the police officer’s home at night. After he answers, they blindfold him, cuff him, and behead him with a knife. After the decapitation, the militants took a picture of the officer’s head and posted it on Twitter with the comment: “This is our ball. It’s made of skin. #WorldCup.” The brutal act has sparked outrage on Twitter. 

And this is about soccer? Or is it about using soccer as an excuse to just be evil? I’m going back to ignorance is bliss on this one. Same with Twitter.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Michael Heisley

Amid all the distasteful soap opera and horrific racism surrounding the distasteful case of now-banned L.A Clippers owner Donald Sterling, it is helpful to be reminded, by virtue of a very sad coincidental event, that some of the traditional

American virtues have also been very well-represented in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

That reminder came with the news, almost simultaneous with the Sterling scandal, of the death of Michael Heisley, who bought the under-performing Vancover Grizzlies in 2000 and shortly thereafter moved them to Memphis, where, as a properly reverential obituary in The New York Times noted, he “revitalized the franchise.”

That is to say the least. Heisley presided over two different renaissance eras for the relocated Grizzlies — one roughly a decade ago, when the Grizzlies, led by venerable coach/analyst Hubie Brown and starring the likes of Shane Battier and Pau Gasol, made their first foray into the NBA post-season playoffs. Heisley’s attendant coaxing of NBA great Jerry West to become the Grizzlies’ general manager during that era was in itself also a great boost to the self-respect of the team and its host city.

Some lean years came, and it took a few years for Heisley to rebuild the franchise a second time, but, while the current ownership group led by Robert Pera has made some astute moves of its own, the creation of the Grizzlies’ current core group of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, and Mike Conley was all done on Heisley’s watch, with the able assistance of his next general manager, Chris Wallace. Some of that required real prescience — notably a complex trade of the senior Pau Gasol, already a star, to the Los Angeles Lakers. A proviso of that trade resulted in brother Marc landing with the Grizzlies. Not many people saw it coming, but Marc Gasol is, and is likely to remain the bigger star now.

As the Times noted, Heisley had made a career of rehabilitating various businesses, and the application of his expertise to the Grizzlies basketball extended to the organization’s off-court and off-season activities. Both the Grizzlies Academy for disadvantaged students and Grizzlies House, a hostel for families of patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, are visible signs of Heisley’s determination to make the Grizzlies franchise a leader in charitable activity, as well. In every sense of the phrase, Heisley put Memphis in the big leagues.

There were misses on Heisley’s part — notably his decision a few years back to give a lucrative contract to Allen Iverson, a lapsed and self-absorbed hero whose tenure here was blessedly short. But, as they say, you can’t win ’em all. It’s true in life as it is in athletics. But it is fair to say that Michael Heisley, who sold the Grizzlies to Pera et al. in 2012, not only created a winner, he was himself a winner. Memphis owes him a debt of gratitude.

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Lionel Richie! FedexForum! On sale Friday!

Now that everything is a cartoon of a video game or vice versa, dechiphering music videos is my new hobby. There is no motherlode of potential analysis quite like Lionel. Just have a look at any of these videos. Pull the snuggy out of the dryer and sit your static-electricity-ridden body down on the couch. It’s time to figure out what’s going on in these videos … I give up. Lionel is coming to FedExForum on June 18th. Hopefully there will be a Q&A. TIckets on sale Friday, February 21st.

Lionel Richie! FedexForum! On sale Friday!

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