It’s time to look ahead to college football games of interest to Memphis this Thanksgiving weekend. Because of the time of year, I’m expanding my definition of “of interest” to include
- Memphis
- Teams with a strong regional following – SEC and Arkansas State
- Major rivalry games
- Games in which a team has a reasonable chance of making the College Football Playoff
- Teams which could end up in the Liberty Bowl – so, unranked Big 12 and SEC teams that will likely finish the season with between 6 and 8 wins
- Teams that are potential bowl opponents for the Memphis Tigers
Rankings are as of Tuesday evening, November 14.
Thanksgiving Day
- 13 Ole Miss at Mississippi State, Egg Bowl, 6:30 PM, ESPN
Friday
- Memphis at. Temple, 11:00 AM, ESPN
- UTSA at 24 Tulane, 2:30 PM, ABC
- 9 Missouri at Arkansas, Battle Line Rivalry, 3:00 PM, CBS
- Texas Tech at 7 Texas, 6:30 PM, ABC
- 11 Oregon State at 6 Oregon, 7:30 PM, FOX
Saturday
- 2 Ohio State at 3 Michigan, 11:00 AM, FOX
- Kentucky at 10 Louisville, Governor’s Cup game, 11:00 AM, ABC
- Texas A&M at 15 LSU, 11:00 AM, ESPN
- Navy at SMU, 11:00 AM, ESPN2
- 8 Alabama at Auburn, Iron Bowl, 2:30 PM, CBS
- 17 Arizona at Arizona State, 2:30 PM, ESPN
- Vanderbilt at 13 Tennessee, 2:30 PM, SEC Network
- Washington State at 5 Washington, Apple Cup, 3:00 PM, FOX
- 4 Florida State at Florida, 6:00 PM, ESPN
- 1 Georgia at Georgia Tech, “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate,” 6:30 PM, ABC
- Iowa State at 21 Kansas State, 7:00 PM, FOX
It looks like the SEC isn’t going to have enough 6-plus-win teams to fill all of its bowl slots. In that case, the Liberty Bowl would become Big 12 vs. wild card and the spot could possibly go to Memphis. That would be bad news for our local hotel and restaurant industries but great news for Tigers fans.
The Downtown Memphis Commission will hold a public safety meeting at its office (N. Main at Adams) 10:30-11:30 AM Tuesday, November 28. Most likely this will be a final presentation of street closings and related plans for Saturday, December 2’s St. Jude Marathon. If you own a business Downtown that opens before noon that day, you should attend or send a rep in order to understand what your employees will need to do to get to work.
Any restaurants/bars opening early for the marathon? Let me know. paul.ryburn@gmail.com or hit me up on social media.
It’s National Peanut Butter Fudge Day. That’s an item I believe Bass Pro at the Pyramid carries. I think that the new sweets shop in the 99 N. Main apartment building. might have it too.
Blind Bear’s specials for this week:
- Thanksgiving dinner – slow roasted turkey breast smothered with brown turkey gravy, cornbread dressing, Tony’s greens, three-cheese mac & cheese, rosemary mashed potatoes, cinnamon & orange cranberry sauce, dinner roll – 22
- Sweet potato pie – sweet potatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger with a golden flaky crust – 8
- Individual cup/bowl of Tony’s greens – 6/10
Blind Bear will open at 6 PM on Thanksgiving. Bardog will open at 5. I will expand this list as more info comes my way.
The DM reports that Rock ‘n Dough Pizza will open a location at 704 Madison after the first of the year. It will have a 4-lane duckpin bowling alley. Don’t know what duckpin bowling is? Wikipedia to the rescue.
The men’s basketball Tigers will face some quality competition this week in the Battle 4 Atlantis invitational tournament in beautiful Nassau, Bahamas. The Tigers kick things off with a 5 PM battle vs. the Wolverines of Michigan Wednesday. On Thanksgiving Day Memphis plays either Arkansas or Stanford, with tip time at 5 PM if they win Wednesday’s game or 7:30 if they lose.
I’ll be out in Eads with my friends Randy & Theresa for Thanksgiving dinner. Randy says he’ll pick me up around noon, along with Butt Slut #2 who also lives Downtown. Butt Slut #1 has to work at her dad’s liquor store (in Mississippi those can be open on Turkey Day) until about 3 then will drive up to Eads.
But here’s the thing – Randy promised Butt Slut #1 he’d put her Dallas Cowboys at 3:25. If the basketball Tigers play at 5, that will be a problem. Hey Randy, perhaps Butt Slut #1 would like to dine al fresco on the bench on your patio while the grownups occupy the dining room. The forecast is for a balmy 55 and besides, she’ll have soup to keep her warm.
I’m typing this from Bardog so I might as well inform you of today’s specials:
- Blackened mahi mahi over penne with Alfredo
- Fried chicken sandwich – cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, BBQ
- Soup: French onion
- Dog: Breakfast dog – 2 eggs, bacon, hash, cheddar, mustard, ketchup (EDIT 2:18 PM): Changed to chili, cheese, onion
- Mussels: Garlic butter, white wine, tomato
- Pecan pie
- Caramel cake
OMG there’s an I Got That Dog in Me shirt. I need to get that for the butt sluts to wear to work so they can promote the Daily Dog.
PRO TIP: If you order urinal mats, yellow is not a good choice. They make it look like the person before you didn’t flush.
Boston came away with a 102-100 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum yesterday. The Grizz fall to 3-10, tied with Portland and San Antonio for the worst record in the West. The good news? Memphis is only 6.5 games out of first.
Next up, the Grizz head to Houston where they’ll tussle with our old buddy Dillon Wednesday at 7. Except, knowing him, he won’t be satisfied with a tussle and will try to turn it into a kerfluffle.
Even college presidents aren’t safe from being carjacked in Memphis. Crooks got his Porsche while pumping gas at Murphy USA on Winchester near Bill Morris Parkway.
Heavy rain is expected this afternoon in Memphis.
RIP Rosalynn Carter, First Lady of the United States 1977-1981.
From Storyboard Memphis: The Hidden History of the Orpheum, Part II: When it Was the Malco. M.A. Lightman, namesake of a bridge club here in town, bought the theater in 1940 and changed its name.
Memphis magazine recently profiled bartender Melicia Coleman, who makes drinks at trucker bar Momma’s on Crump. (The Dirty Crow Inn that preceded Momma’s was a “chicken bar”? Wow.)
President Biden turns 81 today.
ALSAC (fundraising arm of St. Jude) is hiring a Senior Data Analyst – Workforce Planning & Analytics. It looks like this job can be done remotely.
According to this website, I will die on June 17, 2053. I am currently older than 79% of the world’s population.
Hotel Indigo is hiring a guest services manager.
PROGRAMMING NOTE – My posts this week (through Sunday) may be sparse. I want to be out among friends during this holiday week, not sitting in front of a laptop all day. However, at least for tomorrow I expect to be back with more news.