I watched the Tennessee-Memphis game at Blind Bear yesterday. The Tigers lost 102-92. While I hate, hate, hate losing to the Vols more than just about any team, there was a lot about this game to show that good things are to come for this team. For starters, Memphis didn’t get blown out. 92 points against a top 3 team in the country is nothing to sneeze at, and is something neither Gonzaga (#1 at the time) or Kansas (#2 at the time) was able to do.
Imagine if Tubby were still the head coach. Being a huge rivalry game, I do think FedExForum would have been full to the tune of maybe 10,000, not near the 18,500+ who attended yesterday’s game but still busy by the standards of the past few years. However, if Tubby had come back, Alex Lomax wouldn’t be here. Tyler Harris wouldn’t be here. Kyvon Davenport, who scored 31 and surely impressed the scouts of 5 NBA teams who were in the arena yesterday, would have transferred. Memphis would have lost by 45 to 50, and that would have taken the air completely out of the program’s sails. It would have been the official death of Memphis as an elite college men’s basketball program. Game attendance would have fallen to the 2000 range, and the Tigers would be lucky to draw 1000 to weeknight home games.
Instead, the team established that we really do have something special here. Yes, this is a rebuilding year, but Memphis is still one of the elite. Yesterday’s game showed that Memphis has a real chance of making some noise in the AAC and possibly earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. And even if the Tigers don’t make it this year, we’ve got help from James Wiseman, D.J. Jeffries, and Malcolm Dandridge on the way. Good game, Tigers! Well done!
I watched the end of the game with my neighbor Mac, a big Tennessee fan, and at the end of the game we said “good game” and high-fived each other. It was nice to have a reminder that there actually are some Tennessee fans out there who don’t suck. Not many of them, though.
As your #1 source of news and information about The Edge District, it is my pleasure to link to this Daily Memphian article about a new cidery, Century Tree Cider Co., coming to that neighborhood. The cidery will move into a nearly 100-year-old building at 484 Union and will have a taproom and a rooftop deck. It will be short walk away from The Ravine, the $5.7 million urban park covered in yesterday’s post.
I’ll keep reporting on Edge news as I get it, to make sure all of you stay informed… there is a news page maintained by a resident of that neighborhood, but the top story on that page (as of the time I’m typing this, about 8:30 AM December 16) is about a dog party that happened a few days after Thanksgiving.
This week’s Wednesday night British Bingo at Belle Tavern will include a tacky sweater party. In addition to six games of bingo with $100 total in prizes, there will be an extra bingo card for anyone wearing a tacky sweater, and $25 prizes for the best sweater worn by a male and a female. They’ll have mulled wine too.
There will be a Christmas candlelight service on the river tonight at Church of the River, 292 Virginia Avenue. There will be a cookie reception at 4:30, and at 5:30 there will be a traditional service with choir music, special readings, and carols by candlelight. Childcare will be available for kids 3 and under. Attendees are encouraged to bring “gifts for the baby” which will go to mothers of newborns in need.
That’s it for now. Be sure to tune into NBC around 7:20 this evening for the Cris Collinsworth Sunday Night Slide-In. Back tomorrow with more news.