The official announcement has been made: Due to the threat of Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm on track to hit Florida late this weekend, the Memphis Tigers-University of Central Florida football game has been moved up to Friday evening at 6:30 Eastern/5:30 Central. Due to first responders needing to prepare for Irma, they do not have the manpower to support tailgating and therefore there will be none prior to the game. The game will be televised on ESPNU, according to the @UCF_Football Twitter account.
Also, 92.9 ESPN is reporting that the Miami game at Arkansas State this weekend has been canceled, due to return travel issues and to allow players and staff to be with their families.
The latest Irma track has it pushing slightly to the east, with the eye near Miami 8 AM Sunday and Daytona Beach 8 AM Monday.
Update on the carriage horse who died Friday on the Main Street Mall: The horse, who was named Junior and was eight years old, was found to have a rare medical condition that caused him to suffer sudden paralysis. So it was not a trip on the trolley tracks or overwork that caused the fall. WMC has more.
The Redbirds team taking the field for the playoffs tonight won’t be the same team that won 91 games and their division this year. Major League rosters expanded September 1, allowing the Cardinals to call up several key Redbirds players. Those players have to be replaced, often by players who spent much of this season playing at a lower level than Triple-A.
A new pedestrian tunnel under the Central Station project will connect South Main to the Farmers Market on Front.
The Flying Saucer has several ways you can help Hurricane Harvey victims. Through September 17, instead of having a Fire Sale beer, they will have a Harvey beer, of which $2 of the purchase price will be donated. Throughout September, cash donations will be accepted. Every Wednesday, 100% of the proceeds from a selected keg tapping will be donated. There will be a raffle (drawing October 1) where guests can buy $10 tickets to try and win the grand prize of a $200 Flying Saucer gift card.
Wiseacre has announced a dinner and party on Saturday, October 28 from 6 to 10 at its taproom. The party will celebrate this year’s release of Symphonic, a wild bock made with Michigan tart cherries. Pre-party from 6 to 6:30, with dinner consisting of four pairings by chefs Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman from 6:30 to 9. Post-party at 10. The four courses will be paired a cider from local cidery Long Road, a cocktail from Old Dominick, rosé wine, and Symphonic. Live music by Iris Orchestra. The post-party will have an open beer bar featuring Wiseacre beers. Early Bird tickets are on sale for $110 through September 17, with ticket price increasing to $130 after that. If you purchase a ticket and then can’t make it, refunds will be given up to 7 days before the event.
Be sure to come dressed prepared for Oktoberfest. Adidas is selling new Oktoberfest shoes that repel beer and vomit.
Attention poker players: The River Rat Rounders poker league have added a new venue in Downtown. The Green Beetle on South Main will run River Rat games Tuesday nights at 6 and 8. The neat thing about this city-wide poker league, whose games are free to play, is that they have connections with the casinos and sometimes the prize for winning a River Rat game will be a cash voucher to a poker room down in Tunica.
Butch on #Vols’ trash can: Some people act like we’re the only place in America that does things like that. Everybody has something.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) September 6, 2017
As sports writer Dan Wolken pointed out, no one else has a trash can.
That’ll do it for now. I’ll be out at Silly Goose happy hour after work, and given the nice weather, I may even join the smokers on the patio. Back tomorrow with more news.