Two big games on national TV today… at 2, the Memphis Tigers take on SMU in Dallas. With a win, Memphis likely moves into a 10 seed in the projected NCAA bracket. A loss puts the Tigers back in First Four Out or Next Four Out territory. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
The NBA All-Star Game, Team Durant featuring Ja Morant vs. Team LeBron, will be on TNT/TBS tonight at 7 PM.
The NCAA tournament committee revealed its top 16 yesterday, and the University of Tennessee was projected as a 3 seed, the 11th team overall. The Vols being the Vols, what did they do? They went right out and lost, taking a beating from Arkansas, 58-48. Bet the Vols won’t appear in next week’s rankings.
I’d like to suggest a team name for Tennessee: Instead of the Vols, why not start calling them the Voles? Voles are small, insignificant burrowing rodents with the look of a mouse and the habits of a mole. They’re sometimes called field mice in North America (the things Little Bunny Foo-Foo picks up and bops on the head). Given Tennessee’s frequent failures on the football field and the basketball court, I think the Voles would be an ideal animal to represent their school.
We should make a Most Overrated trophy just so Tenneessee fans can experience what it’s like to hold a trophy.
Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane was the first contestant in the NBA’s 2022 3-point contest last night. He was a little off his game, scoring only 18 points. Karl-Anthony Towns won the contest, becoming the first center ever to do so.
Flaws in the I-40 bridge that led to its closure last summer, and which could have caused the collapse of the bridge, were detectable as far back as 1982, the Daily Memphian reports.
Here’s a link to James Aycock’s COVID Week-in-Review. The numbers are generally trending well, but James notes the last 6 weeks have been the deadliest of the vaccine era in Shelby County. He points out that the city is said to be in a “homicide crisis,” but there have been more deaths due to COVID than homicides in the past 6 weeks.
Today is Hoodie Hoo Day in the Northern Hemisphere. To celebrate, go outside at noon and shout “Hoodie Hoo,” to drive winter away prematurely and to usher in spring.
More than 1000 dead rodents were found at a Family Dollar distribution center in West Memphis. I wonder if that center was responsible for shipping the Downtown Memphis Family Dollar its many, many rodents over the years before it closed?
Action News 5 reports that 404 Family Dollar stores supplied by the distribution center were closed Saturday. I wonder if people who planned to do their grocery shopping yesterday and found their local store closed thought to themselves, “Rats!”
There’s an Elmwood Cemetery tour of African-American history this afternoon at 2. Admission is $20 and masks are required when indoors.
Former DNA president Jerred Price brings his tribute show Almost Elton John and the Rocketmen to the Hard Rock Cafe this coming Saturday.
The Krackerjacks, “the party band of the Mid-South,” play the Peabody’s Grand Ballroom from 9 PM to 1 AM Saturday. The event is to celebrate the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show but all are welcome. There will be a cash bar.
My friends in the service industry look forward to the farm & gin show week every year. They tell me the farmers and ginners are not only fantastic tippers, but very nice people as well.
Old Dominick will host a Mardi Gras party 3-6 PM Saturday. When that’s done, why not keep your beads on and walk a few blocks north to the Blind Bear, which will have its Mardi Gras party that night beginning at 8.
Toot, toot, Tootsie, goodbye… toot, toot, Tootsie, don’t cry… today is the last day for Tootsie at the Orpheum.
It’s going to be a rainy week.
The Beijing Winter Olympics’ closing ceremony just concluded. It’s widely believed that Russian dictator Vladimir B. Putin had held off invading Ukraine until the Olympics were over to avoid offending host country China. President Biden told world leaders that U.S. intelligence suggests Russia will begin an invasion that will culminate in encircling Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. British PM Boris Johnson believes Russia is planning “the biggest war in Europe since 1945.”
Queen, queen. COVID-19.
I’m going to trade a Sunday for a Monday – stay home and work today, and go out tomorrow. I want to write at least one professional article and I want to buy and read a copywriting book a fellow writer recommended. Back tomorrow with more news.