Category: Uncategorized

MPD was blocking off Main Street with yellow tape when I left the Blind Bear last night at about 9:00. I checked all the local news stations this morning but couldn’t find any info What I’ve heard – and this is second- or third-hand and UNVERIFIED, so take it with a grain of salt – is that someone may have been beaten down on the Main Street Mall and subsequently had a seizure. If I find out more details I will post them.

A big topic of discussion in my circle of friends is that a Downtown neighborhood lounge has started charging a $20 cover on Sunday afternoons. There’s been a lot of speculation, both face-to-face and on social media, as to the motivation behind that charge. The lounge had been attracting a lot of customers from outside Downtown on Sundays, people from neighborhoods like Whitehaven, Parkway Village, Fox Meadows, and Hickory Hill.

Another Downtown bar (not the one I mentioned above) had a staff meeting yesterday to roll out its new employee dress code. I rarely have anything negative to say about that place, but this time I’m gonna: I think that dress code is a mistake. The whole vibe about the bar of which I speak is, it’s a place you can go and just be yourself. Like the song says, “No cover charge. Come as you are… mmm, mmm, mmm, I love this bar.” But the thing is, the employees have always set the vibe there by being allowed to be THEMselves. Now, to a degree, they’ll be able to do that to a lesser extent. It wasn’t broken and didn’t need to be fixed.

I’ve been told one of the new rules is “no unnatural hair colors.” Should I dye my hair Tiger blue in support of the employees who are gonna have to change their hair?

From Rolling Stone: 50 horrible albums by brilliant artists

Nerd alert: The rise and fall of programming language Visual Basic. VB6 may have been the greatest development tool ever.

This is the last day of Memphis’ current cold spell. Temps will max out in the mid 50s today, hold steady tonight, then rise into the 70s tomorrow.

The Grizzlies are back in second place in the NBA’s Western Conference following a big win over Dallas last night. Memphis now trails first-place Denver by only 3 games. They lead third-place Sacramento by 1 game after Ball Sac lost to Utah last night. Next up: The Grizz host Houston on Wednesday.

NYPD erected steel barricades around Manhattan’s Criminal Court yesterday, a sign that the Trumpster might indeed be arrested today.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow.

I have never been so happy to have my NCAA bracket busted!

I had Kansas going all the way to the Elite Eight, yet I did NOT root for them in yesterday’s Round of 32 matchup yesterday. I cheered for 8-seed Arkansas, who knocked off 1 Kansas 72-71 yesterday. It seemed like Kansas didn’t even try in the final 3 seconds despite being down only one.

I finished the day in 20th place out of 35 in my bracket league with a total of 30. Embarrassingly, I’m still losing to both of the main butt sluts, who are tied for 4th place with 34. The good news is, I still have a relatively high maximum possible total of 154. Six of my Elite Eight picks are still live, as are all of my Final Four.

My picks for today’s games:

• 3 Xavier over 11 Pittsburgh – 11:10 AM, CBS
• 3 Kansas State over 6 Kentucky – 1:40 PM, CBS
• 2 Marquette over 7 Michigan State – 4:15 PM, CBS
• 5 Saint Mary’s over 4 UConn – 5:10 PM, TNT
• 6 Creighton over 3 Baylor – 6:10 PM, TBS
• DON’T CARE – 16 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. 9 Florida Atlantic – 6:45 PM, truTV – I had neither team picked to get this far
• DON’T CARE – 5 Miami vs. 4 Indiana – 7:40 PM, TNT – I had neither team picked to get this far
• 3 Gonzaga over 6 TCU – 8:40 PM, TBS

The Grizzlies remain in third place in the Western Conference – but with the same record as second-place Sacramento – following their 133-119 win over Golden State last night. Next up: at home vs. Dallas on Monday. That game will be on NBA TV at 7 and it will be Hoops for St. Jude Night at FedExForum. It will also be Memphis Islamic Heritage Night.

Today is National Poultry Day. I’d recommend driving through a Jack Pirtle’s location to celebrate. The closest one to Downtown is at Thomas and Chelsea.

The Trumpster suggested he will be arrested on Tuesday and encouraged his wacko followers to protest.

From ABC 24: Watch Jeghetto’s Superheroes Puppet Parade march down Beale

There will be a hiring event at the Hard Rock on Beale from 9 to 11 AM Monday. They’re hiring for all hourly positions.

That’s it. It’s a rather slow news day. Back tomorrow, if there’s anything to report.

Up until 6:00 last night, my Friday March Madness bracket was perfect.

Then, thanks to 3 rounds of Jameson in rapid succession, my evening came to an early end. Friends called Get Lifted to get me home.

It’s probably just as well I missed the evening games. I’d likely have been throwing things at the TV.

My upsets didn’t come through. Providence lost. Drake lost. Kent State lost.

Also, one more team in my bracket lost, but I was happy to get that one wrong: In the East region, 1-seed Purdue lost to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson. It was only the second time in tournament history that a 16 seed beat a 1. It meant Memphis would have an easy path to the Sweet Sixteen, able to get there without playing a 1 seed. They just had to win their 8-9 matchup against Florida Atlantic.

Memphis lost their 8-9 matchup. FAU put in a last-second buzzer-beater to win 66-65.

So, I checked the scores on ESPN’s website this morning and thought, “My bracket is shot all to hell.” Looking at my bracket league standings, I found myself not even in the top 50%, tied for 19th out of 35 participants. And, embarrassingly, I am losing to the two main butt sluts. Butt Slut #2 is tied for first with 26 points, while Butt Slut #1 is tied for 5th with 24 points.

But it’s really not as bad as it seems because

• At 22 points, I’m only 4 points out of first place. Games are worth 2 points starting today. So I only need 2 more wins than the field to slide into first place.
• All of my Elite Eight teams (Alabama, Creighton, Duke, Kansas State, Kansas, UCLA, Houston, and Texas) are still alive
• I have a max of 174 possible points given my picks and results so far. That’s actually in a one-way tie for second behind a league-leading 177. By contrast, Butt Slut #2 has a 116 point max and Butt Slut #1 has a 120 point max.
• 11 of the 35 participants’ picks for national champion lost in the round of 64.

My picks for today’s games:

• DON’T CARE – 5 San Diego State vs. 13 Furman – 11:10 AM, CBS – I picked 4 Virginia to be in this game and beat SDSU
• 5 Duke over 4 Tennessee – 1:40 PM, CBS
• 1 Kansas over 8 Arkansas – 4:15 PM, CBS
• DON’T CARE – 15 Princeton vs. 7 Missouri – 5:10 PM, TNT – got both first-round picks wrong
• 1 Houston over 9 Auburn – 6:10 PM, TBS
• 2 Texas over 10 Penn State – 6:45 PM, CBS
• 2 UCLA over 7 Northwestern – 7:40 PM, TNT
• 1 Alabama over 8 Maryland – 8:40 PM, TBS

Today is National Corndog Day. When’s National Pronto Pup Day? That’d be better.

Today is also National Sloppy Joe Day. Okay. For my readers who ate school lunches in the Little Rock School District in the 1980s, I have a theory. I think the BBQ sandwiches (the Tuesday special) and the Sloppy Joes (the Thursday special) were the EXACT SAME THING. What say you?

It’s also Maple Syrup Saturday. Get it atop strawberry or blueberry pancakes, which I’m sure will be one of the specials at Bardog brunch today, along with a grilled pork chop, lobster omelette, chicken-n-waffles, and some kind of blackened fish. As my DAWG John D used to say, if you have them every weekend, they aren’t specials.

Frank’s RedHot is coming out with a new dill pickle hot sauce.

The Grizzlies came back from down 29 to beat San Antonio 126-120 in overtime last night. Three players dropped in 20 or more points: Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and Tyus Jones.

The Orpheum reveals their 2023-24 Broadway season Monday, March 27. Register to attend

Law enforcement agencies are preparing for the possibility that the Trumpster could be indicted as early as next week. The charge would be in the Manhattan Criminal Court and would involve Mr. Tangerine Man allegedly paying hush money to Stormy Daniels.

Hey, Mr. Tangerine Man, pay a bribe to me…

Clothing store Odds Atelier has reopened following several smash-and-grabs.

Strooly and Tehkal play Central Station tonight from 9 to 1.

Dillon Brooks has been fined $35,000 for shoving a cameraman.

Lifedoc’s Healthier Memphis Gala comes to 409 S. Main on Thursday, March 23.

That’s it for today. Headed out to meet my friends Randy & Theresa and (briefly) Butt Slut #1 for Bardog brunch. Back tomorrow.

Goooooooo Tigers! 9 Florida Atlantic vs. 8 Memphis, NCAA tournament first round, 8:20 PM, TNT.

Over in NBA-land, the Grizzlies make a stop in San Antonio to play the Spurs tonight at 7. TV: Bally Sports South. This is the first leg of a back-to-back; the Grizz return home Saturday to host Golden State.

Someone explain this to me: The 2022-23 Grizzlies promotional schedule lists Saturday as “Game Day presented by Pinnacle Financial Partners.” What does that mean? Do fans get anything? Or does it simply mean a sponsor spent a bit extra to get pimped out on the schedule?

Patti LaBelle plays the Orpheum Saturday night. Tickets are $54.50-$147.

Michael Grandinetti will bring magic to the Halloran Centre Thursday night. Tickets are $37.50.

And over at the Cannon Center, Jeffrey Osborne brings his Can You Woo Woo Woo Tour Saturday night.

Memphis LGBTQ+ organizations held a rally Downtown Thursday to protest incredibly stupid and homophobic legislation recently passed in Tennessee.

Lanes of I-40 will be closed at I-240 Midtown Sunday for a bridge inspection.

Yesterday SEEMED like a horrible day for my NCAA bracket. I got Virginia, Arizona, Utah State, Iowa, and Texas A&M wrong. But the damage is not that bad because

1. I didn’t have any of those teams going beyond the Sweet Sixteen, and I only had Virginia and Arizona making it that far
2. Everyone else in my bracket league had similar problems, so despite being in a multi-way tie for 14th place, I’m only 2 points out of first

Butt Slut #2 is in a three-way tie for first. I guess I should be happy for her, but she’s kinda on my shit list right now. When I sat at her bar Sunday, she practically printed me a handbook of rules and regulations I’m expected to follow, including

• No burping
• No coughing (despite being a nonsmoker in a bar that allows smoking)
• No yawning
• No burying my head in my phone

If she doesn’t cool it, I may have to add another rule to my handbook: No tipping.

Upsets I picked for today:

• East: 11 Providence over 6 Kentucky
• Midwest: 12 Drake over 5 Miami
• Midwest: 13 Kent State over 4 Indiana

That’s it. Time to get out there and watch some basketball. Back tomorrow.

I’d like to start off this blog with a BEAUTIFUL photo!

What’s that, you ask?

It’s the latest addition to Local on Main – a FOOTRAIL at the bar!

What a game-changer that rail is. I didn’t want to say anything, because I really like the owners – but up until yesterday, Local had the most uncomfortable bar seating Downtown. The footrail changed all that. It’s so much easier to climb into a bar seat with my bad legs. Once seated, my feet on the rail stabilize me, preventing that feeling that the chair is constantly trying to push me out of it. So much better!

Local is not the only place stepping up its bar seating game. Blind Bear is starting to get back the bar chairs they sent off for repair. There are a few more captain’s chairs at the bar now.

Bardog? Your turn to step up your bar seating game. Let me remind you of a couple of things, as seen from a regular customer’s perspective:

• Captain’s chairs > bucket chairs
• Chairs with a square footrest built in > chairs with a round footrest built in

ESPN reported yesterday that Ja Morant, now done with his counseling in Florida, met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Silver suspended Ja for 8 games for conduct casting the league in a bad light. However, Ja has already sat out 5 games, and those count toward the 8. Ja could be back with the team (though not necessarily starting) as early as Monday vs. Dallas.

Ja sat down with ESPN and expressed remorse for his actions.

Bardog will have the following St. Pat’s specials Friday;

• $7 Jameson, IPA, Jameson Orange, Irish car bombs, green tea, breakfast shots
• $4 green beer
• $6 Guinness

Brass Door will have the following happening Friday for St. Pat’s:

• Alice Hansen traditional Irish fiddle at 3:00 and 4:15
• Blessing of the Kegs by Rev. Scott Walters at 4:00
• Blackwater Trio & Alice Hansen at 5:45
• Corned beef & cabbage, fish & chips, Reuben sandwiches and egg rolls
• $10 cover after 2:30

College basketball reporter Andy Katz identified Memphis as a dark horse in the NCAA tournament.

Former Tiger Joey Dorsey is back with U of M basketball, coaching the forwards and centers.

Mighty Lights will glow green, white, and orange today and tomorrow every half hour in the evening to celebrate the holiday.

The company that runs Bally Sports regional networks is filing for bankruptcy. Hmmm I wonder what this will mean for Grizzlies games?

So ready for March Madness! Back tomorrow.

2067 years ago today, Brutus (or “Brutusk,” as Popeye would call him) murdered Julius Caesar.

The Bardog fam invited me to participate in their NCAA bracket challenge, so I spent a good portion of the morning filling out my bracket. My choices were pretty boring: Alabama, Duke, Houston, and UCLA in the Final Four, with Bama beating Houston for the championship.

Butt Slut #1 is in the same bracket pool. Given that we have a sibling-like rivalry, I would normally root for her to lose BAD. But I’ve been told she picked the Memphis Tigers to go all the way. So, as much as it pains me to do this, I have to root for Butt Slut #1 to win, even if it means I lose.

Let’s turn our attention to Memphis’ Friday first-round opponent, the Florida Atlantic Owls. A 9 seed, they’re 31-3, AP No. 25, playing in Conference USA.

Who have they beaten?

• Florida (76-74, November 14)
• … And really, that’s it. That’s why they’re now just cracking the top 25 with 31 wins.

Who have they lost to?

• Ole Miss (80-67, November 11)
• UAB (86-77, February 2)
• Middle Tennessee (74-70, February 16)

Verdict: This team hasn’t been truly tested all season and is entirely beatable.

In other basketball news: For the first time, I saw a definition of “mid-major” last week. A college basketball mid-major is a team that is NOT

• In a Power 5 conference (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12)
• In the American Athletic Conference (so Memphis is not a mid-major)
• In the Big East
• Gonzaga

From Yahoo! Life: Why Bass Pro Shops hats have become urban chic

Brit Taylor has a release party for her album Kentucky Blue Saturday at South Main Sounds. The album currently sits in the Top 20 on the Americana charts. Rose Ragsdale kicks things off at 6:30.

The Blind Bear is celebrating St. Patrick’s all weekend long (Friday-Sunday) with

• $4 Slaine
• $6 Jameson
• 2 for $10 Irish Car Bombs
• $5 apple pie moonshine

It’s International Eat an Animal for PETA Day, a holiday I support one hundred percent.

It’s also National Peanut Lovers Day. Celebrate with a trip to The Peanut Shoppe at 121 S. Main.

From WREG: Woman catches burglar coming out of her Downtown apartment at 60 S. Main

The soccer World Cup is expanding from a field of 32 to 48.

Downtown residents and business owners, MPD wants you to join them for Coffee with a Cop. It’ll be at 9 AM at Bluff City Coffee, 505 S. Main on Friday, March 24. Colonel McNeil and others from the North Main Station will be there.

The 13th annual Red Boa Bash for the American Red Cross will be held on April 22 at 409 S. Main St.

That’s it for today I apologize if there are any typos I’m using a dictation app to ride the smog see you tomorrow.

It’s a great week to be a basketball fan in Memphis. The Grizzlies scored a nice 104-88 road win over the Dallas Mavericks last night. Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings took a 133-124 loss to Milwaukee. That put the Grizzlies back in second place in the Western Conference. Top three standings:

1. Denver
2. Memphis – 4.5 games back of Denver
3. Sacramento – 5.5 games back of Denver

Those are the clear top three in the Western Conference. After that it’s a horse race, with only 4.5 games separating 4th-place Phoenix (9 games back of Denver) from 12th-place Utah.

The biggest Grizzlies news yesterday was that Ja Morant has entered a counseling program in Florida and there is no timetable for his return. Memphis loves you, Ja. Take all the time you need.

The Memphis Tigers basketball team got some good news yesterday. Their victory over top-ranked Houston landed them in the AP poll for the first time all year. They come in at number 24, one spot ahead of their NCAA first-round opponent Florida Atlantic. In other poll news, Houston’s loss dropped the Cougs to 2nd, with Bama regaining the 1 spot. Memphis’ potential second-round opponent Purdue moved up two places to 3rd.

Feast & Graze at 55 S. Main wants to buy you lunch this week! All week long, buy one menu item and get a menu item of equal or lesser value for free. Kitchen closes at 2 PM Monday-Wednesday and 3 PM Thursday-Saturday.

Today is National Potato Chip Day.

86-year-old Buddy Guy plays the Orpheum tonight. Tickets are $55-$120.

Harvesting equipment fans: There will be a MacDon dealer meeting at the Renasant Convention Center Thursday-Friday.

All right. When I start blogging about farm tools, it’s time to go. Back tomorrow.

Tulane beat Memphis twice during the regular season. When the Tigers beat the Green Wave 94-54 Saturday in the AAC semis, I commented to a friend, “Memphis took a while to find their footing, but now they’re peaking at exactly the right time.” I predicted that Houston, the other AAC finalist and the AP No. 1 in the country, was going to have its hands full.

Houston MORE than had its hands full yesterday. They were in trouble the entire game as Memphis rained in buckets. The Tigers hammered the Cougs in a 75-65 win, led by Kendric Davis and his 31 points.

Memphis won its first AAC men’s basketball title.

Memphis defeated its first AP No.1 opponent ever. Previously the Tigers were 0-11 against number-ones.

I guess the “Penny can recruit, but he can’t coach” people can shut up now.

With the game won, it was on to Selection Sunday, where they released the NCAA tournament bracket. Memphis was named the 8 seed in the East region, the region that has Purdue as its 1 seed.

Other notable teams in Memphis’ region:

• 2 Marquette
• 3 Kansas State
• 4 Tennessee
• 5 Duke
• 6 Kentucky
• 7 Michigan State
• 10 USC

The 8 Memphis Tigers play 9 Florida Atlantic at 8:15 PM on Friday, March 17 on TNT. The good news there is, no one who works an 8-to-5 corporate rat race job will need to take vacation time to watch the game. The bad news? The game is on St. Pat’s, the second biggest Amateur Night of the year after New Year’s Eve. The fact that it’s a weekend night will compound the problem. The bars will be loaded with douchebags.

Assuming Memphis takes care of FAU Friday, they have a date with 1 Purdue on Sunday. Is Purdue beatable? Purdue is 29-5. Let’s look at those 5 losses:

• Jan. 2, Rutgers, which just missed the NCAA tournament
• Feb. 4: Indiana, AP #21 at the time and a 4 seed in the NCAA
• Feb. 12: Northwestern, a 7 seed in the NCAA
• Feb. 16: Maryland, an 8 seed in the NCAA (back-to-back losses)
• Feb. 25: Indiana, AP #17 at the time and a 4 seed in the NCAA

So, yeah, 3 teams that appear comparable to Memphis or worse (Rutgers, Northwestern, Maryland) have taken down mighty Purdue. The Tigers can too, especially the way the Kendric-DeAndre machine has been humming along lately.

Really, I don’t think ANY NCAA tourney team is a huge favorite to get to the Final Four this year. The champ could very well be seeded in the 5-12 range.

I don’t know much about Purdue but I’ll text my Big Ten expert this week and get his thoughts.

Statistics site FiveThirtyEight’s March Madness predictions are up. They give Memphis

• A 61% chance of making the round of 32
• 19% to make the Sweet Sixteen
• 8% to make the Elite Eight
• 4% to make the Final Four
• 1% to make the championship game
• < 1% to win the championship

Their forecast model’s favorite is Houston, a 25% favorite to win the championship.

Today is National Workplace Napping Day.

Forecast for today: No chance of rain today but high 49/low 31. Temps aren’t expected to climb back too the 60s until Thursday. Ugh.

Memphis 901 FC lost its season opener to Loudoun United FC 3-1 on Saturday. Next up: vs. the Pittsburgh Riverhounds this coming Saturday at 4 at AutoZone Park.

Grizzlies on national TV alert: Dallas hosts Memphis at 6:30 on ESPN. Which is fine if you’re. out-of-market. If you’re in the Memphis metro, though, wouldn’t you rather watch the game with ya Emmy-nominated boyz Brevin, Pete, and Fish on Bally Sports South?

Soul & Spirits will host a St. Patrick’s Day party Friday night. Irish food from Albees food truck, blessing of the beer, bagpipers.

Old Dominick holds its 2nd annual Crawfish & Cocktails event Saturday from 2-6. Crawfish by Geaux Creole, music by Rooster Revival.

The Lizzard Kings play Carolina Watershed Tuesday at 7. $5 cover.

Ballygran Irish Band plays the Hard Rock Friday 6-9.

Internet connectivity restored after 4 hours. But now I’m short on time. This isn’t going to be much of a post.

Memphis vs. Houston for the AAC title, 2:15, ESPN.

NCAA Selection Sunday, 5 PM, CBS.

The DM has a look back at yesterday’s 50th Silky O’ Sullivan’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.

The DM also has a look at the 300,000 Legos that are part of Brick Fest Live happening this weekend at the Renasant Convention Center.

The Oscars are on tonight… (YAWN) Who cares.

Sorry this post sucked. Back tomorrow probably.

Crap.

Just what I didn’t need right ow.

I think my router may be dead.

Gimme a few days to figure this out.