About 5:15 yesterday afternoon, I was at the Silly Goose’s happy hour. The Triple-A National Championship Game, Memphis Redbirds vs. Durham Bulls, was 45 minutes away. Knowing the game was on NBC Sports Network and the Goose has Xfinity, I pulled out my phone to search whether Xfinity carried NBCSN, and if so what channel was it on. “I sure hope they have it,” I thought. “It’s 96 degrees out and I really don’t feel like walking all the way to Max’s Sports Bar to watch the game.” A little work with Google revealed they did carry it.
“Hey Brittini, can you put one of the TVs on 852?” I asked.
“What’s on there?” some of the other people in the bar asked.
“Redbirds,” I said. “They play for the national championship at 6.”
“They already won it,” one of the other people in the bar replied.
“They won their league,” I explained. “The Pacific Coast League. Tonight they play the winner of the other league, the International League, for the national Triple-A championship. It’s not a series, just one game, winner take all.”
So we got the game on – well, it was not actually game time yet, and NBCSN had equestrian on. So we had to look at 45 minutes of men in white spandex balancing upside down on horses. “My friends Rahul and Tony would love this,” I thought.
Finally the game started, and before long the Redbirds were clubberin’ the Bulls. By the 4th inning, and near the end of happy hour, the ‘Birds already had 8 runs. I decided to relocate to the Blind Bear.
I got over there and the place was average-busy for a Tuesday, about 8 people playing poker and another 15-20 at the bar and in seats. The Redbirds game wasn’t on; they had Cardinals-Braves on both TVs. I told the bartender and she changed the channel on one of them, but still I couldn’t help but thinking, “A room full of people and not one of them knew the Memphis Redbirds were playing on national TV.”
Other than the watch party they had at Aldo’s, the Redbirds really didn’t do a whole lot to get a buzz going about the game. I wonder why? I guess maybe because it wasn’t in town and they wouldn’t get any ticket sales off promoting it. Still, though, the Redbirds playing for a national title… that’s kind of a big deal! They need to generate as much talk about that as they can.
Also, the Redbirds didn’t just play for a national title… they won it! Their domination of Durham continued and they beat the Bulls 14-4. Congratulations to everyone involved in the Memphis Redbirds organization. You made Memphis proud last night, and the entire season.
Eyes of Major League Baseball GMs are going to be on Stubby Clapp more than ever now. There are going to be underperforming MLB teams who, after this season, decide it’s time for a change at the helm, and Stubby will be seriously considered, no doubt. I wish he could stay in Memphis forever but he has more than earned the right to be the skipper of a major league team. If we’re lucky maybe we’ll get to keep him one more year.
The game was a reminder that money and corporate sponsorships are what drive sports these days, as even the most routine things had a sponsorship. There was the Mount Carmel Health Pitching Change (actually, a lot of them as the Bulls went through nearly their entire pitching roster trying to contain the Redbirds). There was the Orange Crush Home Run. Maybe I need to get in on this. Does someone want to sponsor the “(your company name here) Afternoon Walk to the Bar” in exchange for picking up my bar tab?
While I was at the Silly Goose, my friend Clay came in. After ordering, he asked me, “Do you know why so many people are talking about Mario Kart today?”
“Are you really sure you want to know?” I replied. He said he did.
“Stormy Daniels’ book came out,” I explained. “She described the sex she had with Donald Trump. She said his penis was small, although not freakishly small, and it had an unusually large head. She said it reminded her of Toad the Mushroom from Mario Kart.”
Clay was sorry he asked.
In the other big news of the day, a Sesame Street writer confirmed what we have all suspected for years – Bert and Ernie are a gay couple. However, later in the day Sesame Street issued a denial that Bert and Ernie are gay.
GOP parent: How do I explain Bert and Ernie being gay to my kids?
Normal parent: How do I explain the president who raped his first wife, endorsed a child molester, said he’d date his daughter if he weren’t her dad, and bragged about grabbing women by the pussy to my kids?
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) September 18, 2018
The Onesie Bar Crawl returns to Memphis December 1. The most comfortable bar crawl of the year will begin at Blind Bear at 4 PM and will proceed through Downtown through 10 PM.
CitizenFest is coming October 13. This is an festival learning summit, organized by Citizen University and Fourth Bluff, on how to exercise civic power. You’ll learn how to make your voice heard, how to fix a rigged system, how to dispel apathy in others… plus, there will be free food and drink.
Catherine & Mary’s is hiring servers, back servers, bartenders, bar backs, hosts, and cooks. They say to check their online bio for an application to fill out, and I would link to it in this post but I can’t find the application anywhere (they posted the job openings to Facebook, so I assume they meant on there).
The Downtown Neighborhood Association monthly gathering will happen at the Halloran Centre for the Performing Arts next Tuesday, September 25. Jason Wexler, president of business operations of the Memphis Grizzlies, will discuss the 2018-19 season. Social time at 6:00, presentation at 6:30. There will be light snacks and a cash bar. Free for DNA members, $10 for non-members.
113 Madison, vacant for 20 years, has been purchased by a California developer who already has a footprint in Memphis. He plans on doing renovations and sees the building as a blank canvas. Great to hear about further revitalization of the block of Madison right around the corner from me.
Singer/songwriter Ben Rector, with special guest Cody Fry, plays the Orpheum tonight.
In case you missed my earlier post, 2 PBRs + 2 sliders for $10 at Bardog until 7 today. Also 2 Jameson shots for $10.
Well, I avoided the walk in the heat to Max’s Sports Bar yesterday, but today I gotta do it. I have an appointment there at 6:00. Back tomorrow with more news.