Tiger schedule for C-USA tournament, and who’s opening early Saturday for the game?

Here is the schedule for the games the Memphis Tigers will play in the Conference USA tournament this weekend (all times Central Daylight Time):

  • Quarterfinals:  Thursday, 6 PM
  • Semifinals:  Friday, 5:30 PM
  • Finals:  Saturday, 10:35 AM

And here we go again with the same problem we have every year:  Because we play in such a lousy conference, we get a lousy start time for the championship game – 10:35 AM, a problem for those of us who like to go to bars to watch the Tigers on TV.  Most bars don’t open until 11.  So it’s time to ask the question, who’s opening early Saturday for the Tiger game? Usually it’s not hard to convince bars in the Downtown core to do it, since the tournament is at the FedExForum and they get quite a bit of business before and after the games.

Undecided where to watch Saturday’s game… will figure it out once I see who’s open.  Will probably watch Thursday’s game at the Saucer since the Dempseys play there later in the evening.  Undecided about Friday too.

Post about Orleans on Front’s crawfish boil will be up around 1 PM.

Depression-era cocktails for $1 tonight at Silly Goose, 5 to 7

Just a reminder that the Silly Goose is doing classic cocktails at Depression-era prices tonight for $1 from 5 to 7 PM.  Got an e-mail from one of the owners this morning, and he says they’re doing PBR for a dollar as well.  They will also offer their own stimulus package, complimentary tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, in honor of the soup lines of the Great Depression.

Come on down and support the Goose… if this goes well it will become a regular event.

Info coming later today about next Sunday’s crawfish boil at Orleans on Front.

CSS = Completely Stupid Sports

CSS once again proved Saturday why it is the worst sports network of all time.  I showed up at the Saucer at noon expecting to see the Tigers on TV.  Instead I saw a women’s game between Jacksonville State and East Tennessee State.  “How could they not know there’s a game on?” I thought.  “Being a home game at the FedExForum, there had to be a lot of people in here with Tiger attire earlier.”

So I asked the manager to change the channel to CSS, and he told me it was on CSS.  I turned on the Wi-Fi on my phone and looked up the game, and confirmed that CSS was the correct channel.

I then texted Mikey, who was at Calhoun’s, to see if they had the game.  They didn’t either.  CSS screwed up, that’s all there was to it.  About 45 minutes later, after being flooded with calls, Comcast finally got their act together and got the Tiger game on with a few minutes left in the first half.  I kept my Wi-Fi on and reloaded the score from ESPN Mobile every 15 seconds in the meantime.

What I would give to have Time-Warner back in Memphis as the cable provider… both my cable and Internet service were just about flawless for years when they were here.  Twice this week my Comcast Internet service has gone out in the middle of online poker hands.

Anyway, rant over, and congrats to the Tigers on a perfect regular-conference season.

Full day ahead today… I’m going to do the Bloody Mary bar at Silly Goose again this week.  They don’t open ’til 12, so I have an extra hour to play online poker before I head that way, a good thing because the poker rooms tend to be full of bad players on Sunday mornings.  At 5 I have to be at the Saucer for my friend Matty O’s going-away party, and then the Dempseys play Huey’s at 8:30, although I may skip them or show up late if Matt’s party gets good.  If I miss them it will be the first time since 2003 I’ve missed a Downtown Huey’s Dempseys show.

Time to hit Publish and go win some money… see ya later.

Thank you, Antonio, Robert, and Chance

Today is the last regular-season home game for the Memphis Tigers (vs. Tulane at noon).  It’s Senior Day, and I just want to take a moment to say THANK YOU to Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier, and Chance McGrady, the three seniors who have stuck with this program for 4 years.  Your leadership and work ethic have played a huge role in turning Memphis into a first-class basketball city.  Congratulations on not only your basketball success, but on your upcoming graduation in May.  Best wishes to the three of you.  Your contributions will not soon be forgotten.

Fri update: Walrus @ Slim’s, Dempseys @ Huey’s Sun, Calhoun’s bracket challenge, SMA recycling locations

Tonight is the first live band night at Automatic Slim’s under the new ownership.  Walrus takes the stage around 11, and Michael Patrick’s late night menu will be in place from 10 to 3.

The Dempseys play Huey’s on Sunday.  This is one of several Downtown dates the Dempseys will have next week.  I never miss their Downtown Huey’s shows… without a doubt the best place to catch them.

Calhoun’s is doing an NCAA bracket challenge.  From March 15 to March 18, every time you buy a premium beer (Guinness, any Ghost River, Stella, IPA, Fat Tire) you get a bracket to fill out.  The winning bracket will be announced after the tournament is over, and will receive a $100 bar tab.  Sounds like a great deal for those who drink premium beer… I’m a PBR drinker so I likely won’t have any bracket entries at all.

Yesterday I posted about the drive to recycle old cell phones and injket and laser print cartridges as a fundraiser for the South Main Association.  You can bring those items to any SMA meeting (including the one at Circa on the 10th).  However, if you can’t make it to a meeting, there are also drop-off locations at the Westin Hotel just south of Beale, Bank Tennessee at 30 N. Second, or at Bluff City Coffee at 505 S. Front.  Interesting fact:  Each recycled laser cartridge saves a half-gallon of oil.

That’s all for now… gonna play online poker ’til 8 then head out, probably to the Saucer, then to Slim’s and the Tap Room.

Job offer!

I just accepted a job offer with a non-profit company here in Memphis.  It’s exactly what I’ve been looking to do.  The job title is Webmaster, but I won’t be sitting at a computer 8 hours a day banging out code.  The position is not in the IT department but is under the Director of Marketing.  I’ll be building websites, but they have a web programmer to do the heavy coding, and a sysadmin to maintain the server.  The Director of Marketing is looking for me to suggest ways to make the existing site more user-friendly, to suggest new site ideas to broaden the organization’s audience, and to create a content management system to allow nontechnical people to upload site content.  Months ago I said that I wanted to get into marketing, and now it looks like I’m going to have that chance.

The Director of Marketing has to go out of town for a conference for over a week, so most likely my start date won’t be until Monday, March 23.  Needless to say that is just fine with me… two more weeks to finish up my freelance work, play poker online, and stay out late at the neighborhood hangouts.

Trying to throw two days off for BBQ Fest into the negotiations… we’ll see.

The offer confirms what I’ve been saying all along… that when one is job hunting, one should not take the first position that comes along, but instead wait for the right position to appear.

So this weekend I’m celebrating… no idea what I’ll be getting into tonight, other than stopping by the Tap Room at some point to wish a friend a happy birthday.  I’ll definitely be out and about though!

Crawfish boils in the parking lot of Orleans on Front, Sun 3/15 and 3/29

Just heard from Chef Clint at Orleans on Front… the beer board has approved permits for them to do crawfish boils in the parking lot Sunday afternoon, March 15 and March 29.  These are going to be big parties with musical entertainment (he’s lining that up now, details to come).  March 15 is Selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament and you’ll be able to move back and forth between the parking lot and the Orleans and Voodoo Room bars, both of which are equipped with TVs.  He’s still deciding on a start time, but last I heard, he was thinking around 4 PM.

Orleans is, as the name suggests, on Front Street between Union and Gayoso, approximately across the street from the Butcher Shop.

Save the dates!  These should be fun.  If they go well, there will be three more crawfish boils in April.

Zodiac Ball @ Peabody with Cherry Poppin’ Daddies to support the American Cancer Society Sat 3/28

The Zodiac Ball, the 4th annual gala fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, will be held Saturday night, March 28, at the Peabody Hotel at 6:30 PM.  Dr. Thomas Chesney will be honored for his unrelenting fight against cancer here in Memphis.  There will be music by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, and guests will be invited to participate in silent and live auctions and a “Baubles and Bubbles” 1-carot diamond giveaway.  Funds raised will be used to support the Society’s mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem through research, education, advocacy, and service.

Individual tickets are $250 per person.  Go here to purchase them, or contact Christine Freeman at 901-278-2091.

TN legislature tries to overturn living wage ordinance

My love/hate relationship with the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center continues.  They and I will probably never see eye to eye on the issue of panhandling.  However, they sent me the e-mail below, about an attempt in the Tennessee Legislature to reverse the living-wage law that ensures Memphis and Shelby County employees a decent living.  Thousands of people could see their standard of living reduced if this is allowed to pass.  On this issue I’m 100% in agreement with the MSPJC.  Please read the letter below, and if so inclined, take the suggested action.

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It is urgent that you take a minute to email or call your state senator about Senate Bill 83. This legislation, which has passed out of committee and could be voted on the Senate floor THIS WEEK, forbids local governments from setting wages higher than the minimum wage. That means it will overturn the living wage ordinances we worked so hard to get passed in the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission, and it will keep other communities across the state from passing living wage ordinances. It will also overturn the prevailing wage ordinance passed by the City Council. This will mean lower wages for thousands of workers in a time when so many families are already in crisis. It is also a disturbing interference into local government affairs by our state legislature.

This type of legislation has been introduced for many years in the state legislature, but this is the first time since 2003 that it has passed out of committee. Our current legislature is more hostile to workers than it has been in past years, so your action is urgently needed to stop this bill.

Call or email your state senator TODAY or TOMORROW. To find out who your senator is, and his/her contact information, go to State Senate and type in your street address and city under “Find My Senator.” Right now, only calls to senators, not representatives, are needed. If you have trouble with this feature, call Rebekah at WIN at (901) 332-3570 or email rebekah@workersinterfaithnetwork.org with your full home street address and she will look up the information for you.

Sample message:
This is ________ and I live in your district. I am calling to urge you to vote NO on Senate Bill 83. This legislation takes away control from local governments and will overturn the living wage ordinances passed by the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission. Especially in a time of economic crisis, the state legislature should not act to lower workers’ wages.

If you email, be sure to include your full home address to show that you live in your senator’s district.

Thur update: Depression affects Silly Goose, free resumes, Kookamonga Challenge, and more

The Silly Goose is the latest business to be affected by what some people are now calling the second Great Depression.  In particular, it has affected their drink prices.  Every Monday from 5 to 7 PM, they’re going to offer classic cocktails (Manhattan, Rob Roy, Old Fashioned, etc.) at Depression-era prices – they’re going to sell them for a DOLLAR.  Wow.  Looks like I won’t be showing up for Pint Nite at the Saucer until 7 from now on.

In other economic news… FedEx Office (formerly Kinko’s) will print your resume for free next Tuesday.  Bring them your resume in printed or digital format, and they will print up to 25 black-and-white copies on resume-quality paper, a $5 to $10 value.  For Downtowners, there’s a FedExOffice in the Peabody Hotel, at Third and Union.

Yesterday I blogged about the Tonga Lounge with DJ Mark Anderson every Saturday at Automatic Slim’s, starting this Saturday.  I’ve since heard that this Saturday is a grand opening private party and you have to have a ticket.  So if you can’t get in this Saturday, no worries, you can go Saturday the 14th or after that.

Kooky Canuck takes its Kookamonga Challenge to the RiverKings at the DeSoto Civic Center Saturday, March 14 and 21.  Participants from the audience will be selected to try and finish the 7 lb. Kookamonga burger in under an hour.  You’ll also be able to bet on which participant you think will win, with proceeds from the betting to benefit St. Jude.

Check back later today for info on a gala fundraiser to benefit the American Cancer Society.