It’s been a sad end to this week. In the past 48 hours, two of my friends have lost loved ones. Also, many Downtowners are grieving the loss of a pillar of the community (RIP Lunchbox). My heart hurts for everyone who is missing someone today.
It’s the first full College Football Saturday of the year. The Memphis Tigers will host Nicholls at the Liberty Bowl tonight at 6. If you have ESPN+ you can watch the broadcast. Other games of note:
- 19 Penn State at 12 Wisconsin, 11 AM, FOX
- Rice at Arkansas, 1 PM, SEC Network
- 1 Alabama vs. 14 Miami in Atlanta, 2:30 PM, ABC
- 17 Indiana at 18 Iowa, 2:30 PM, BTN
- Miami (Ohio) at 8 Cincinnati, 2:30 PM, ESPN+
- 23 Louisiana at 21 Texas, 3:30 PM, FOX
- Texas Tech at Houston, 6 PM, ESPN
- 5 Georgia vs. 3 Clemson in Charlotte, 6:30 PM, ABC
- 16 LSU at UCLA, 7:30 PM, FOX
- BYU vs. Arizona in Las Vegas, 9:30 PM. ESPN
If you’re a Memphis fan, you will want to root for Miami (Ohio) Texas Tech, and Arizona in their games today. We want Cincinnati, Houston, BYU, and UCF (which played earlier in the week) to have bad seasons so those schools look less attractive for Big 12 expansion, opening a spot for the Tigers.
… Well crap. Bleacher Report says those schools have already applied and may have an answer by September 10. Come on, guys, take a year to think about it.
I’ll probably watch the Georgia-Clemson game at the Blind Bear, where I will be rooting heavily for the Dawgs. It will be weird watching the first week of college football without my buddy Mac behind the bar.
I’ve had several people ask, “How long do you think the Shelby County Health Department will keep the mask mandate (for everyone, that is, not just in schools) in place?” An article in the Daily Memphian provides a clue. “In late July, the CDC said even vaccinated people needed to mask in places where there were 50 daily cases per 100,000 people.” According to COVID Act Now, the rolling 7-day average of new cases in Shelby County went above 50 per 100K on August 5, and the mask mandate was issued two weeks later. So the health department was possibly following CDC guidance. We hit a high of 113.9 per 100K on August 23, and have since fallen to 79.1 per 100K. We have a ways to go to get below 50 and stay there.
Today is International Bacon Day.
There’s a free color magick workshop at the Broom Closet today. Understanding the frequencies at which colors vibrate is key to a magickal practice. Shop owner Rev. Omma will conduct this class.
Christina Chandler and Bailey Bigger will perform at South Main Sounds tonight at 6.
Mephit Furmeet is back. What’s that, you ask? People who dress in animal costumes gather for a convention at the Whispering Woods Hotel in Olive Branch. Despite the distance from Downtown, now and then a furry or two will pop up near Beale Street.
Speaking of Beale Street: I haven’t seen any announcement from MPD or from the managers of the street that there will be security checkpoints or a cover charge to get on the street during certain hours. I checked all the local TV stations, the CA, the DM, and the Flyer… nothing. That makes me think MPD’s top brass didn’t learn anything from the July 4 weekend. I put the probability that we see a “Weekend Shooting on Beale Street” headline by midday Monday at 75%.
Ida evacuees: I did a quick “where the Downtown locals go” guide for you earlier this week that’ll give you some alternatives to Beale.
The Super 5 Acoustic Trio plays Blind Bear tonight 10 to 1.
That’s it for today. Go Tigers (Memphis Tigers, that is), Go Hogs, and Go Dawgs.