Start Co. launches a BBQ team, Antonio Anderson launches his coaching career and more Friday news

Start Co. is starting its own BBQ team for Memphis in May BBQ Fest 2015. From what I gathered from their website, it appears as though it will be a whole hog team. I’m sure it will be an exciting booth filled with founders, mentors, and people full of ideas. Start Co. was the sponsor of the team I’m on, the Moody Ques, for 2014. I’m happy to see them branch out on their own, and I wish them the best and thank them for a great year this year.

This does mean that the Moody Ques is looking for a new sponsor. We compete in shoulder and have one of the largest booths in the park, and our booth has developed a reputation as one of the most fun places to be at BBQ Fest. We had back-to-back wins for Best Booth the past two years, with a professional event planner and a team of artists working on the design. Many, many people heard about our booth and came by for a look, resulting in lots of extra eyeballs on our 2013 and 2014 sponsors. We are putting together a packet for potential sponsors outlining what you will get for different levels of contribution – and, of course, those are just rough guidelines and we can tailor the experience to fit your needs. If your company would be interested in sponsorship shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com and I will have one of our team leaders contact you.

We may be looking to add some more members as well, so if you’re interested in being a team member shoot me an email about that too.

Never give up. That’s the lesson from last night’s Grizzlies game. 00:00:3 is all the time in the world. I watched the end of the game at Bardog, and when the Grizzlies came back from down 26 to win with a buzzer-beater pass from Vince Carter to Courtney Lee, the place went wild.

In other basketball news, former Memphis Tiger Antonio Anderson, a member of the 2007-08 team that went to the national title game, starts his coaching career tomorrow. He has been hired as an assistant at Wheelock College. I always thought he would make a good coach, with an excellent mind for the game and a lot of leadership qualities. Anderson was the glue that held the 07-08 team together.

The Loony Bin, the new gallery at 8 South Main, will host a “Loony Blooze” event tomorrow night. The live music lineup features The Suede Tones at 6, Theo & The Boogie Blues Trio at 7, and Zeke Johnson & Ms.Zeno at 8.

There’s a Groupon for Ballet Memphis presents The Nutcracker at the Orpheum December 12 or 13. Up to 50% off.

Tomorrow’s Winter Market theme at Memphis Farmers Market is Cooler Temps Mean Warmer Meals. Open 9 AM to 1 PM at the Central Station Pavilion, Front at G.E. Patterson. Live music by Adam Levin from 11 to 12:30.

From the MBJ: A new restaurant will open in the former TJ Mulligan’s space in The Pinch. The new business will be more of a restaurant and less of a bar than Mulligan’s was. It will have an outdoorsy theme that will complement the new Bass Pro down the street.

Four hours until my birthday weekend begins, although the actual birthday is not until Tuesday. No special plans, just hitting the usual stops. I’m leading off at Blind Bear tonight to help one of my BBQ teammates with his new website. Plans after that TBD.