Sacrifices

First of all, a very happy birthday to our friend Mary Pat, who along with her husband Dennis conquered Mount Kilimanjaro for St. Jude last year.

The Moody Ques got together yesterday for our third and final practice cook for Best Memphis Burger Fest.

A lot of planning goes into Burger Fest. We got out a notebook and started writing down all the things we need to make sure to bring to the festival – ingredients, equipment and of course, beer. We don’t want any last-minute scrambles at load-in.

A big part of the reason behind our success is a great team managing the grill. Drew and Mac took care of things out there yesterday. We did timed cooks yesterday since we have to turn in entries on time at Burger Fest.

John D bought an electric smoker and for some reason we were tasked with assembling it. Our teammate Kao who has a pedigree for manual labor unfortunately wasn’t there. Misty asked me to take this picture of her hard at work while the boys watched football.

Per agreement with the team, I promised not to post photos of the finished product. Other teams read this blog and I don’t want them stealing our ideas. However, I received permission to post this one. “Oooh… the Moody Ques are putting CHEESE on their burger… we need to step our game up.”

By the way – if you see me in person and are not on another team, I will be happy to show you burger photos on my phone.

We cooked our Traditional Cheeseburger and it was mighty tasty. We also held a runoff vote for our top two ideas for Anything Goes, and ended up picking a combination of the two. Totally solid. From my days of playing poker, I realize that you can’t win every hand, because there’s luck involved. However, win or lose, at the end of the hand if you feel you played it the best you possibly could, you have to feel good about your performance. The Moody Ques have earned the right to feel good at Burger Fest whether we finish first, last, or somewhere in between.

You can’t have a successful team without sacrifice, and there were were sacrifices to made yesterday. Specifically:

The Arkansas game. Arkansas played Texas A&M yesterday at 11, nationally televised on ESPN. Initially the practice cook was set for Sunday, and I was going to spend yesterday at my home away from home on the south side, Max’s Sports Bar, watching the game with fellow Razorback fans. The move to Saturday canceled those plans. Fortunately our inspirational leader/father figure had WatchESPN on his phone.

I can’t use “Can you blame us for going 6-6? We’re in the SEC West” as an excuse anymore. Arkansas is a mediocre team in a sea of other mediocre teams (and Alabama). They should never have let that game drag on to overtime. I’m still not in the “Fire Bielema” camp though. I think he’s capable of developing a winning program, especially given the current state of the SEC. He just needs a couple more years. I tell you one thing, if Arkansas makes it to the Liberty Bowl I am going to camp out at Max’s Sports Bar hoping Coach makes another visit.

Skillets of Greatness. BreakFest 901 was yesterday, a celebration of breakfast and brunch. Teams competed in breakfast sandwich, breakfast sweets, bacon lovers, omelet, and Anything Goes. We were approached about competing but turned down the offer, not wanting to be distracted from our Burger Fest practices. The winning teams got Skillets of Greatness rather than trophies.

Anyone have a head count as to how many teams competed in BreakFest? I haven’t seen a number anywhere.

And now for the sacrifice that really hurt…

D-RANKS with B-RAD. Two months ago, our Sunday brunch Blind Bear bartender B-RAD tore his meniscus playing football with his son. He had to have surgery in August. I knew his return was imminent, but it turned out to be sooner than I thought. I got to John D’s house for the practice cook a little after 11 yesterday. With time to kill, I pulled out my phone and started surfing Facebook. I saw this:

I considered going “(cough)(cough) Hey John, I’m not feeling well, since this is a food event I better head back Downtown so I don’t infect anyone.” But I couldn’t do that to the team. At BBQ Fest, I have no role on the team outside maintaining the team website and email. I know nothing about BBQ. Burger Fest, however, is different. I’m a former judge. I have feedback to offer about how to get the scores up to 9s, especially in Appearance which is a factor many teams overlook. So I resigned myself to an afternoon of watching football with awesome people and sampling delicious burgers.

About 3 I got back Downtown and headed to the Blind Bear.

The gang was all there. I got the pleasure of hanging out with Katie (not Mac) and Wesley for a bit, and Rahul and Tony were there too. Rahul and Tony were discussing their plans for Halloween. “We’re going to go as butter and toast,” Rahul said.

“Butter goes on top of toast,” I replied. “So I guess Tony’s butter.”

B-RAD will be working Saturday brunch for a while, that being an easier shift than Sunday. So I guess Bardog then Bear is my plan from here on out on Saturdays. Wait, that was already my plan.

Attn Jeannette: Is there ANY chance someone can cover Brad’s shift Saturday, October 7 so he can come hang out with the Moody Ques at Burger Fest?

I’ll be back at the Bear for Sunday brunch action today. I’m currently about 50/50 on whether I will attend Memphis Farmers Market’s Farm Fest at Loflin Yard today at 5. Great event for a great cause and I want to go, but I will need to lay off the Fireball at brunch if that is to be a plan. We shall see. Outta here for now, back tomorrow with more.

 

Saturday update

Happy Saturday everyone! If you don’t have plans for today, check the past several days of my blog posts. It seems like I posted about a million things that are going on today. If none of those appeal to you, why not head down to Max’s Sports Bar today at 11 AM to watch Arkansas take on Texas A&M, and Tennessee take on UMass. Or hold off until the evening shift to watch the Salukis of Southern Illinois play your Memphis Tigers.

Or, if you’re not a football fan, there’s this:

The Halloran Centre has announced the cancellation of its Tuesday with Morrie series, following an announcement by Jamie Farr’s management team that he is pulling out of the production.

It’s been an offseason of innovation and facility upgrades for the Memphis Grizzlies. Check out the center-hung HD video board!

There will also be giant HD monitors in each corner of the arena. The Grizzlies won’t be suffering backstage either. A locker room has to feel like a home to the players, and they have taken steps to make that happen. They’ve expanded the weight room, enhanced the LED lighting, given the players more seating and storage space, and installed digital video screens. There are new luxury spa, sauna, and wet rooms, and for the players’ enjoyment there are new ping-pong and pool tables. The upgrades make FedExForum among the very best arenas in the NBA in terms of player facilities.

In other Grizzlies news, they are starting to take steps to get down to their regular-season roster limit of 15 players by trading Troy Daniels to Phoenix.

The Moody Ques public relations team is headed to Midtown this morning. Deputy Director Perjorie T. Roll and I will get in the car here in a bit and drive to team president John D’s house for our third practice cook for Best Memphis Burger Fest. Later today I will pay a visit to my home away from home on the south side, Max’s Sports Bar. All right, I can’t think of anything else to talk about, so I’m out. Back tomorrow with more.

Ghost River Dock Parties and more Friday news

Big news from Ghost River this morning: They will have a Dock Party Concert Series every Friday in October. They will be turning their shipping dock into a large musical stage. There will be a $5 cover charge for each concert (cash-only) and there will be a bar (card-only). Ghost River is family-friendly, and the patio is dog-friendly. Each night there will be a food truck on site. Here’s the lineup:

  • October 6: Kelley Anderson + Suavo J The Hip Hop Trombonist; food truck Just Wraps
  • October 13: HEELS + Faux Killas; food truck Yippie Trippie & the Porkstars
  • October 20: The Incredible Hook + The Infidelles; food truck Gourmade
  • October 27: Juju Bushman + The Neatos; food truck Memphis MoJo Cafe

In other Ghost River news, painting class with local artist Danny Broadway returns Thursday, October 12. $30 cash or check (make check payable to Danny Broadway) and all materials will be supplied. Reservations are preferred. Email emma@ghostriverbrewing.com to reserve your spot. Quasi halai Asian Street Food will be the food truck for this event.

Josh and Jeremy from Star and Micey will play the Concert Series at Madison Avenue Pocket Park, 151 Madison across from Brass Door, this afternoon 4-6 PM. Beer will be available for purchase.

Devin Crutcher will headline tonight’s MLK50 concert series on the lawn of the National Civil Rights Museum, 6 to 8 PM. There will also be food trucks, NCRM vendor booths, spoken word artists, a DJ, and more. Bring your lawn chair.

The Avett Brothers play the Mud Island Amphitheater tonight 6-9 PM.

Not a Downtown event but a friend is in one of the bands: No Love for Lions, No Comply, and Casiowares play Growlers, 1911 Poplar, tonight from 8 to midnight.

So there’s this:

Bobbie & Tasha play the Residence Inn rooftop tomorrow night from 6 to 9.

Laramie plays the Hard Rock a month from today, Sunday, October 22 from 7 to 10 PM. This is an indie rock band with multi-talented singers and musicians led by singer and songwriter Laramie Renae. This show is free and all ages.

Fall into Autumn is the theme of the Memphis Farmers Market this Saturday. Farmers will be there with the last of the summer crops and the first of the fall crops. Come talk with the people who grow your food. There will be live music all day and the Master Gardeners will be there to answer your questions. The Market runs every Saturday through the end of October from 7 AM to 1 PM under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.

Look what Jerry “The King” Lawler had to wake up to this morning:

Terry Funk used to refer to himself as “middle-aged and crazy,” but he’s 73 now (and still wrestling!) so I guess he can’t say that anymore. Perhaps we can find somebody else to adopt the moniker.

I like how Funk drew a picture of eyes and then drew an X through them, for the benefit of fans who can’t read. Which is probably the majority of fans attending this show.

CNN will host a debate Monday over the repeal of Obamacare. In the red corner, Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham, authors of the repeal legislation. In the blue corner, Senators Bernie Sanders and Amy Kloubchar, opponents of the repeal.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I want to shout FEEL THE BERN!, thinking that Bernie is going to kill the Republicans in this debate, picking their cruel and harmful legislation apart piece by piece. However, I also feel like the GOP is playing Bernie here, knowing that his vision for healthcare is the opposite extreme. What we need is a bipartisan effort to meet in the middle. It seems like the Republicans are debating Bernie to help ensure we never get that.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow.

Fire in my building Wednesday night: Info and thank-yous

I’ve been talking to my neighbors and messaging my landlord, Henry Grosvenor, and I’ve been getting more details on the fire that broke out on the 15th (top) floor of Number 10 Main Wednesday night about 10 PM. I would like to say thank-you to a few people and organizations:

  • First and foremost, my neighbor on the 15th floor who heard a smoke alarm going off next door and then started smelling smoke. He ran next door and banged on the door until the man in the apartment, who had left food on the stove and then fell asleep, woke up. The neighbor’s actions kept the damage from being much worse than it was and possibly saved a life.
  • Memphis Fire Department. Despite the fire happening on the top floor of a high-rise, they were on it and had it contained in minutes. Six units were damaged, but a lot more would have been had it not been for their quick and professional response.
  • Hotel Napoleon. The boutique hotel at Third and Madison offered a small discount on hotel rooms for residents displaced by the fire.. They are a good neighbor and a good member of the Downtown community. (Hotel rooms were covered by insurance, and no resident had any out-of-pocket expense.)
  • My neighbors who were affected by the fire, who have been very understanding about the situation despite being inconvenienced through no fault of their own.
  • And finally, Henry himself, who was up well past midnight getting ServPro out here to minimize the damage, and arranging the Hotel Napoleon rate.

To make it clear, this fire did not happen because of any structural defect of Number 10 Main.

No one was hurt in the fire.

For my neighbors, Henry is thinking of arranging a Fire Safety meeting in the near future. Watch the announcement boards on the elevators for details.

My unit was not affected by the water damage but I got very lucky. If the water damage had spread to two or three more units it probably would have got me.

Back at lunchtime with a regular post.

Thursday update

Fire alarm in my building last night. When a second and third battalion arrived, I realized it was not a fire drill or a kid who pulled the fire alarm; it was a real fire. Cooking accident on the 15th floor. MFD had it under control quickly and my apartment was not affected. As you can see, I made sure my important belongings got out safely. After I took this photo I decided I was too close to the building and needed to move farther away. Specifically, I moved about three blocks farther away, to the bar at the Blind Bear.

Today through Sunday are Repair Days at the National Ornamental Metal Museum. At this event, metalsmiths from around the country travel to Memphis and volunteer to repair family heirlooms and other metal objects brought in by the community. During Repair Days the museum is open to the public and admission is free.

Don’t have an object to repair? No problem, bring the family out on Saturday the 23rd for a day of fun. There will be blacksmithing demos, a scavenger hunt and I Spy, pewter casting, and jewelry making. At 1:30 PM there will be a Q&A with museum management. From 2 to 3 Opera Memphis will perform two pieces as part of 30 Days of Opera. From 2 to 4 there will be an Iron Pour: Watch as artists cast your scratch block or bowl. Silent auction 4 to 7. Gallery talk and reception with artist David Secrest at 5. At 7 there will be a dinner and live auction.

Do you want to be in a movie?

Thursday, October 5 will be Games on Wheels Night outside the Silly Goose. There will be cargo bike slow races, tiny bike sprints, and the Memphis Roller Derby will be there as well. Grab a drink and hang out on the Great Streets Project and watch the show, or hop on a bike and compete.

City Tasting Tours will present a Chef Collaboration Dinner on Monday, October 30 at 7 PM. Asian and upscale Southern cuisine will come together in a fusion of culinary skills and art, with ingredients hand-picked by chefs Jimmy Sinh (Sushi Jimmi) and Michael Patrick (Rizzo’s). Mixologist Q Shakur will create cocktails that perfectly complement each of the four courses.

Deal Cancer Out V will happen Saturday, November 18 (my birthday!) from 2 to 5 PM at Downtown Central BBQ. This is a poker tournament that is a fundraiser for Memphis Men’s Health Org in support of the fight against prostate cancer. The winner of the tournament will receive a three-day trip to Las Vegas, air fare and hotel included. Second to fifth place will pay out $400 – $300 – $200 – $100 in prize packages from your favorite restaurants and bars. Your $45 buy-in includes a Central BBQ buffet. To ensure the game is run properly, they are bringing in Teresa from River Rat Rounders as tournament director.

The 2017-18 Grizzlies broadcast schedule has been released. There will be four nationally televised games, including a preseason game vs. Houston October 11 and the MLK Day game. This year all 82 regular-season games will be on Fox Sports Southeast, even the four games that also have national TV. So, if you prefer Pete Pranica, Brevin Knight, and Rob Fischer, you can always hear their commentary. Fish Nuggets every game!

Moody Ques teammates: Check your email. We have moved up our third Best Memphis Burger Fest practice cook to this Saturday, September 23. It’s the last available weekend day before Burger Fest on October 7 where all the people who need to be there, can be there. Dammit I was planning to try out for the Memphis Hustle that day!

That’ll do it for now. Hitting Silly Goose happy hour after work. Back tomorrow with more news.

Wednesday update #2

Normally going to Collierville is something I would not recommend in this blog, but you might want to consider it Saturday. The second annual Collierville Brew Fest happens at Carriage Crossing from 4 to 7 PM this Saturday, September 23. Guests can sample craft beer from local and regional breweries as well as homebrew teams. The Carriage Crossing restaurants will have food samples. There will be live music by The Young Petty Thieves, game zone activities, and the Amurica photo booth. Love the FAQ section at the bottom of the event listing – no matter what question you have about the event, the answer is “Your answer goes here.”

YOGA! Ghost River will host Sumits Yoga + Beer Benefit #2 this Thursday in their taproom. $15 includes an all-levels yoga class followed by a 10 oz. Ghost River beer. Sign in 5:30-6:00, yoga class 6:00-7:00, then beer. There is a maximum of 25 so be sure to register ASAP. Bring your own mat, water, and of course your ID since you’re going to be drinking. Proceeds from this event benefit the Grizzlies Prep Academy.

Give it away, give it away, give it away now, YOGA! Tomorrow, Thursday, September 21, Downtown Yoga will have Give it Away Day. Every person who takes a yoga class at the studio tomorrow will get a gift. Giveaways could be a yoga mat, a yoga class pass, a ride on Sprock’n’roll party bike, a visit to Memphis Escape Rooms, or one of various other goodies. Downtown Yoga will have classes throughout the day at a variety of levels. Have a look at the schedule to pick your class.

Some great local beer hits stores this week.

Holly has information on this fall’s River Series at Harbor Town. The series kicks off this Sunday, September 24 with Amy Lavere and Will Sexton with the Moon Glimmers.

Holly also has info on Puppies Now, Babies Later, an event organized by Wolf River Animal Rescue and Loflin Yard, at Loflin Yard 2-5 PM Sunday. Bring your own dog or meet an adoptable rescue dog. There will be giveaways and the event is family-friendly. When did people start using the term “doggo” all the time? I never saw that until this year.

If you listen to a lot of podcasts, Lifehacker has a tip on the best podcast search engine. It has indexed 18,000,000 different episodes of 300,000 different podcasts.

With the Triple-A championship game over, the St. Louis Cardinals have recalled Aledmys Diaz and Josh Lucas from the Redbirds.

From Newsweek: Famous primatologist Jane Goodall says Donald Trump is like an aggressive chimp and may not last long as president.

If you’ve heard the name “Paul Manafort” but you’ve never been exactly sure who he is or why he’s in the news so much, this article does an excellent job laying out his history and his ties to foreign governments.

That’s it for now. I’ll hit the Silly Goose happy hour after work as I usually do on Wednesdays. Back tomorrow with more.

Paella party and more Wednesday news

The Front Porch will host a paella patio party Sunday, October 1 at 3 PM. The event will feature live music by Le Tulmulte Noir. It will start off with Spanish tapas including Iberica Jamon, rosemary marinated Mahon cheese, grilled red pepper crostini, and Spanish olives. The main course will be Chef Patrick Reilly’s famous Valencia Paella Mixta. There will be sangria specials as well. Tickets are $45 and are limited so if you want to attend, call 901-524-0817 to make reservations. No walk-up sales will be allowed. Extra tapas platters will be sold for $18, and the full Front Porch menu will be available. The paella contains chicken, sausage, and seafood including shellfish.

The Redbirds lost the Triple-A championship game 5-3 to the Durham Bulls last night.

The Memphis Farmers Market hosts Farm Fest with Star and Micey at Loflin Yard this Sunday, September 24 from 5 to 8 PM. This is the annual fundraiser for the Market. There will be food from local restaurants and vendors, wine, and Wiseacre beer. Old Dominick will provide two signature cocktails, and Kendra Scott Jewelry will be offering jewelry pulls. I have been to this event the past two years and it is a good time. Believe me, you will not have any shortage of great food to eat.

Ghost River has tweeted that there will be no trivia tonight in the taproom. Geeks Who Drink trivia will return Wednesday, September 27. You can still enjoy Flight Night in the taproom tonight, with 4 flights for the price of 3.

I discovered a new food truck on Facebook yesterday: Quasi halal Asian Street Food. They’ll be at Ghost River noon to 4 Saturday.

Brian and Jenn will be playing acoustics at Belle Tavern tomorrow night, Thursday, September 21, and every Thursday until the end of November.

El Mero Taco and Say Cheese will be the trucks for Food Truck Wednesday at Miss Cordelia’s tonight from 5 to 8 PM. Buti Yoga with Emily Dyson at 6:30 for a $10 class fee. YOGA!

From Deadspin: Oh, hell yeah, it’s time to get on the Memphis bandwagon (meaning Tigers football)

The Rock says this: Fire Butch Now. No, I don’t mean the Great One, the People’s Champ, the Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment, Dwayne Johnson. I mean the Rock. The Rock was unearthed in 1966 when the UT campus street grid was laid out. For 50 years it has been a canvas for amateur artists. One of those artists is leading the charge for UT men’s head football coach Butch Jones’ ouster. If you smelllllll…la-la-la-la…

what the Rock.

is cooking.

(eyebrow)

The president’s chief of staff reacted to his speech at the U.N. yesterday.

Off to work. Possibly a second post at lunchtime.

Tuesday update #2: Triple-A National Championship game, Pints for Pups at Slider Inn and more

Tonight is the Triple-A National Championship game, Pacific Coast League champions Memphis vs. International League champions Durham, to be broadcast on NBC Sports Network. What better place to watch the game than at the home of the Redbirds, AutoZone Park? The gates will open at 5 and the video board and the TVs in the Club Level will be tuned to the game. First pitch will be shortly after 6. Free admission, with food and beverages available for purchase.

Once the game is over, live music is a short walk away. South Side Supper Club plays their twice-monthly gig at Belle Tavern tonight from 7 PM to 10 PM. If you’re coming from the ballpark, walk south down Second Street and turn into the alley next to Las Margaritas. The tavern’s entrance is in the alley halfway to Main Street. Great whiskey and whisky selection. Also, they have PBR.

Help raise money for the Memphis Humane Society at Pints for Pups Saturday noon to 6 at Slider Inn. Come enjoy live music, $6 slushies, a pop-up craft beer tent, and tacos al pastor. The Humane Society will have some adoptable dogs out there, so if you have ever thought about adopting a rescue Saturday is your day! A dollar from every draft beer sale and Tito’s $4 you-call-it drink will be donated to the Humane Society.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe have a good report on how revenue sharing in the NBA costs small-market teams money. The article examines how a large-market team (L.A. Lakers) can do a poor job running their team as a business, yet still make money hand over fist; meanwhile a well-run small-market team (Memphis Grizzlies) is told again and again that they need to run their business better. The Lakers generate $148 million from local media rights, while the Grizzlies generate only $9.4 million.

I learned something Sunday at out burger cooking practice. World traveler/WordCamp speaker Otto told us, “Pickles are purely an American thing when it comes to topping burgers. When I traveled to Australia, the burgers there had a big brown beet on them.”

“So you’re saying Australians like to beet their meat?” I replied. That is definitely a burger idea we won’t be stealing from our friends down under.

President Trump spoke at the United Nations this morning. On the subject of Kim Jong-un, Trump said “Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime” and that the U.S. would have no choice to totally destroy North Korea if the U.S. is forced to defend itself or its allies. Shall we set the Doomsday Clock to 11:59:30 now? I sure hope Trump ran those remarks by Defense Secretary Mattis in advance. I have a feeling he didn’t though.

That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more.

Tuesday morning update

The King and I comes to the stage at the Orpheum this week. This show is set in Bangkok in the 1860s. It’s the story of an unconventional romance between the king of Siam and a British schoolteacher who he brought to the country to teach his many wives and children. It won a Tony in 2015 for “Best Musical Revival.”

Kid’s Books and Brunch, a pop-up bookstore and story time, will be at Trolley Stop Market this Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM. Rebekah Gienapp will lead a story and craft time, featuring the brand-new sing-along My Friend Robot. The pop-up shop is by Barefoot Books and you will find plenty of imaginative and diverse gifts for kids that aren’t available in stores. Preview their collection here.

901 Drift will be the featured vendor at Small Shop Saturday in the Ghost River taproom this Saturday from noon to 4. Every week, the taproom hosts a different vendor, and this week it is 901 Drift. This is a local jewelry line produced by husband and wife team Phillip and Caroline Smith. The jewelry is made from pieces of driftwood they find walking the banks of the Mississippi, and each piece is unique and crafted with love.

A Healthy Me! 30 day wellness plan kicks off Saturday at Your Inner Yogi, 10 N. Second, from 1 to 2:30 PM. This is 30 days of clean eating, vegan protein shakes, unlimited yoga, and a support group to help you achieve your wellness goals. The package is a $275 value but they’re selling it for $165 plus tax and shipping. They are asking that you RSVP as soon as possible due to limited space. Saturday will be the meet & greet, then the wellness plan kicks off for the first day on Friday, September 29. On Saturday, October 28 plan participants will come together to celebrate.

Is this one of those “cleanse” thingies? I sure as hell won’t be participating but I know for a fact I have readers who are into this kind of stuff, so I figured I should write about it.

The Broom Closet at 546 S. Main is offering an Intro to Spellcasting – Prayers with Props class Saturday from 2 to 4. Learn about the three keys to effective Magick, and what to ask yourself before you cast a spell and boosters to keep it going. There’s also stuff about using your guides and animal totems. There is a $10 energy exchange for this class.

You know, that reminds me – yesterday during my lunch break I had a $1.07 energy exchange with an automated cashier in the self-checkout line at Kroger. I went into a state of bliss as I felt myself absorbing the machine’s energy and becoming one with the machine. Then I went back to the office and heated up my Michelina’s frozen dinner.

This week in SEC Shorts: The janitor at the University of Tennessee football building is a busy man.

Memphis Farmers Market has announced that the MFM Squared day at Court Square this Wednesday has been canceled.

The Memphis in May BBQ Judging Seminar is set for Saturday, November 11. Sign up and learn how to be a BBQ Fest judge.

That’s it for now. Off to work. Possibly a second post at lunchtime.

Monday update

The college football polls are out, and if they went that far down the Memphis Tigers would have been ranked #31 in both polls. That’s slightly lower than I had hoped, but there’s always a bias against schools that are not in the Power 5. Pleased to see Memphis got more votes than Tennessee in both polls. Now the Tigers need to focus on jumping past ranked non-Power 5 schools South Florida and San Diego State.

Congratulations to Pacific Coast League champions the Memphis Redbirds! With the series vs. the El Paso Chihuahuas tied 2-2, the Redbirds scored a 3-1 win in Game 5 last night to take the crown. The Redbirds now advance to the Triple-A Championship game, to be held in Moosic, PA tomorrow night. Their opponents will be the Durham Bulls, the International League champions. The game will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network. The Cardinals are expected to promote a few Redbirds players following that game.

Sushi Jimmi is hiring for several positions: waitress, dishwasher, kitchen prep, and kitchen chefs. They are looking for someone dedicated and responsible with a customers-first mindset. Call David or Jimmy at 901-729-6985 during restaurant hours to apply. (Note: they are closed on Mondays)

Good music coming your way at South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main, Friday night:

Sad to hear of the passing of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan yesterday. Heenan was the best pro wrestling manager in history and was the perfect foil to Hulk Hogan. Later in his career Heenan found a new role for himself at the broadcasting table.

Memphis is considering a hotel conversion for vacant 100 N. Main.

I could not have been any happier with the Moody Ques’ second practice cook for Best Memphis Burger Fest yesterday. Several different ideas were tried for the Anything Goes and Traditional Cheeseburger category. We voted on what we liked the best in each category and also what kind of cheese to use. It was a fantastic team effort and we are in great shape to score well at Burger Fest. We practiced Bloody Mary too. Our third and final practice cook will be this coming Sunday, September 24, same time, same place.

By the way… Seth messaged me last week and asked if there was any team the Moody Ques wanted to be near at Burger Fest. I said Squeal Street. So our many mutual friends will not have to walk far to say hello to both teams.

The Grizzlies have announced their promotional schedule for 2017-18. Highlights include

  • Grit Grind Forever towel to all fans on Opening Night, October 18 vs. New Orleans (TA’s new team)
  • Grizzlies Lightsaber for first 5000 on December 15 vs. Atlanta
  • Jerry “The King” Lawler crown for first 5000 on January 5 vs. Washington (Wrestling Night)
  • Grit Grind Forever headband for first 10,000 on January 19 vs. Sacramento (Z-bo’s new team)
  • Marc Gasol Billion Dollar Strut figure for first 5000 on January 26 vs. L.A. Clippers
  • 8-bit Mike Conley for first 5000 on March 2 vs. Denver (Video Game Night)

Great piece on Huffington Post about Memphis entrepreneur Darrell Cobbins.

The rescheduled Memphis-UCF game will be on ESPN2 6 PM Central time Saturday, September 30.

That’s the news for now! Back tomorrow with more.