I like what the Grizzlies did in the draft last night. With Ayton, Bagley, and Doncic off the board, there is absolutely nothing wrong with picking the best available player. It remains to be seen if Michigan State power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. will be a star, but he won’t be a bust. He’ll fit nicely alongside Marc Gasol, he can shoot the 3, and he’s a good fit for modern positionless basketball. I am so glad the Grizzlies gave up the idea of trading the pick.
As for the 32 pick, Jevon Carter, I remember seeing him play a couple of times when good ole West Virginny was on TV. Impressive player, outstanding defense. After reading a little bit more about him, I had to wonder, “How did this guy fall to the second round?!” Sit him under the learning tree of The Conductor, develop him into a strong backup point guard, and in a few years time a lot of teams could regret not taking him.
The Grizzlies will introduce the draftees at 2 today at FedExForum.
Totally digging the Trae Young shorts-with-a-suit thing.
With the JJJ pick, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Jarell Martin better start packing.
Prediction: Mo Bamba has the personality to eventually be a TV/movie star as well as a top basketball star, in the mold of Shaquille O’Neal.
For those of you who miss the writing of Chris Herrington, he has a blog. Today he posted first thoughts about the draft.
Tonight is Star Wars Night at the Redbirds, playing New Orleans with a 7:05 first pitch. Characters from the movie will be roaming around the park to take photos. First 1500 fans get a Harrison Bader “Darth Bader” bobblehead, and the Redbirds will wear special Star Wars jerseys that will be auctioned off for charity after the game. $2 drafts in the Plaza before the start of the game. It’s Free Stuff Friday with prizes every inning and one fan getting to roll the dice for a chance at $50,000. Jaren Jackson and Jevon Carter will throw out the first pitch and will be in the concourse to meet fans after that.
Brit Floyd, the number-one Pink Floyd tribute act, will come to the Orpheum tonight at 8 for its tribute of the 45th anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon. The band will also play songs from Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall, and The Division Bell.
WREG has a story about the tearing down of the Tri-State Bank building at Main and Beale. The bank moved its headquarters to Midtown and sold the property to Belz for a reported $3 million. Belz has not yet announced what they will do with the property.
Good news for those of you who like to bet on sports: Sports betting will be legal at casinos in Mississippi 30 days from now. Tunica is going to be the place to be during the upcoming football season. More tax money that could be kept here if our legislators weren’t so backward in their thinking about gambling.
Wiseacre Brewing Co. has lunchboxes now, featuring fossils from their Memphis Sands artwork. The backs of the boxes are left for you to decorate. Get them at the taproom or the Wiseacre online store.
South Main Sounds Songwriter Night 89 happens tonight at 550 S. Main, 7 to 9 PM. Performances by an international cast of Frank Caswell, Massimo Bevilacqua, Jason Middlekauff, Katrina Burgoyne, and Jess Smith
The folks at the Memphis Farmers Market want you to be eggcellent and shop with them this weekend. Crack open a farm-fresh egg at the Farmers Market (actually, don’t; take it home and crack it in your kitchen) this weekend. Kids can make crafts out of recycled egg cartons with folks from the Dixon 10 AM to 1 PM. Live, local music all day long. The Market runs every Saturday 8 AM-1PM under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.
YOGA! There are two ways for you to support great local charities by doing yoga this weekend. mind body HAUS is partnering with St. Jude for a full day of yoga at the children’s hospital from 9 to 4 tomorrow. Teachers will be providing classes all day. Register here.
Over in Court Square from 11 to 1 tomorrow, you can join Streetdog Foundation for 108 Sun Salutations in honor of the Summer Solstice, led by Caroline Miles and Bridget Sisney and Special guest teachers from Sumits Yoga Memphis, Roxanne Sanders and Laurel Wiedower RYT 200. All love offerings go to Streetdog Foundation, and in addition to money they will accept physical donations that meet dog needs. Live music, yoga, and adoptable pups. They ask that you arrive 15 minutes early to have time to park and register.
High Ground News has several good stories this week concerning Downtown and surrounding areas. They have a report on the Uptown Concert Series that kicked off on June 5 and will continue every other Tuesday for six concerts. Very few things are more fitting in the South than getting to know your neighbors doing a little porch sittin’. Future concerts will be on porches on North Main, North Fourth, Keel, and Looney. A grant by the Memphis Medical District Collaborative made this series possible.
As your number-one source of news and information about The Edge District, it’s my pleasure to link to this High Ground article about Edge Motor Museum opening later this year at 645 Marshall. The museum will be great for exposing Memphians to the history of the neighborhood, and with tourists already interested in ’50s-’70s culture down the street at Sun Studio, Edge Motor Museum will give them an additional reason to visit The Edge.
For those in the Downtown core, High Ground has a look at the new Curry N Jerk restaurant opening at 126 Monroe. The restaurant will have a lounge downstairs with drinks and live music. Plans are not yet in place for the upper floors of the building.
Time to play “routes and controllers” (it’s not as much fun as “Chutes and Ladders”) for a few more hours, then it’s the weekend. Looking forward to a visit to Max’s Sports Bar to talk about the Grizzlies’ draft picks. Although I’ve researched Jevon Carter a little, I would be very interested in discussing his potential with any West Virginia fans who watched him play. Back tomorrow with more news.