Thank you, Chuck, for making me aware that among my “Week 0 Thoughts,” I failed to mention anything on county-school football.

In an effort to right this wrong, I’d like to take some time to acknowledge the feel-good story that was Arlington’s 21-7 victory over Germantown last Friday at Arlington. After three years of preparing for their first full varsity season, the Tigers made a statement before their home crowd Friday, limiting Germantown to zero passing yards and zero second-half points. With 32 seniors, including highly sought offensive tackle Alex Hurst and standout middle linebacker John Michael Bryant, Arlington will be anything but a pushover this season in 5A football.

Continue Reading »

A hot topic that is on the minds of many Tigers fans and Memphians in general is the Liberty Bowl and future stadiums. This is a crossroads decision in my ever so humble opinion. It is going to be about what we as Tigers fans and supporters want for our future in athletics.
Here are my 10 reasons for getting an on-campus stadium. Please take the time to read them and make up your own mind. Then make your opinion known to whomever you feel you need to.

1. Memphis is the only D-1 school in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi that does not have an on-campus stadium. Most understand that the larger SEC schools have one. But fellow C-USA member Southern Mississippi has the Rock. And yes, even Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State have on-campus football stadiums.

2. Memphis is only one of three C-USA schools that does not have an on-campus facility. UAB and Tulane are the other two. Both of those schools will never be mistakened for having a large fan bases. Here’s the breakdown of on-campus stadiums.

C-USA
East
East Carolina Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium 43,000
Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium 38,016
Southern Miss M.M. Roberts Stadium 36,152
UCF Bright House Networks Stadium 45,301

WEST
Houston John O’Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium 32,000
Rice Rice Stadium 47,000 expandable to 70,000 if needed
SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium 32,000 possible expansion to 45,000
Tulsa Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium 35,542
UTEP Sun Bowl 51,500
(more…)

Continue Reading »

ALABAMA

Starting nose tackle Brian Motley is out indefintely after reportedly breaking a bone on the outside of his ankle Tuesday. Motley, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound freshman, was hurt during practice Tuesday afternoon and was carted off the field for X-rays. Motley was recovering from surgery during preseason camp to replace a broken bone in his right hand. He had only recently returned to full contact work in practice and was expected to play Saturday against Western Carolina with a cast on his forearm. Sophomore Lorenzo Washington, who is listed behind Motley on the depth chart, is the likely replacement. (more…)

Continue Reading »

Just a few nights ago I was talking to a local chef about how good we've got it down here. Truly, most food in the South is tasty. We're a people who know that if a little more salt won't do the trick, a little butter likely will. We're not shy with the seasonings, not afraid to eat pieces of the pig that would make a self-respecting Northerner cringe. And tell me someplace else where you can get cornbread like you can get here. And so on--you get my point. The reason we were talking about this was that she mentioned how insulting it was to go into places in Chicago that advertised Memphis-style ribs, and all it took was one taste to know the ribs were made by someone who'd never come across our bridge.

So when I came across Gael Greene's review of Justin Timberlake's new place, I thought I'd share it with you. A couple of questions: How could you even fry a ripe tomato? And while I love mac and cheese--with ribs? Come on, that just ain't right... And I will spare everyone my thoughts on barbecue nachos, other than to say vomit.

The review was in New York Magazine on Tuesday:

"Probably you Justin Timberlake fans (plus the guys who'd follow you anywhere) will haunt Southern Hospitality hoping to spot your crush sipping Mountain Dew in a back booth of this raffish joint he's fronting. There's no sign of that hottie tonight as we brave the tussle and eighties disco throbbing full blast.

Just a clutch of babes pretending to eat, an army of guys sucking beer from the bottle, and a bartender tossing cocktails. A bouncy hostess in cowboy boots trots us to a table in the rear still sticky from its previous gorge, away from the barside clot but not the roar. Cameras emerge from our pockets and start flashing. We're immortalizing the nachos-a scary swamp (with pulled pork, $4.95 extra). Surprise: It's edible, almost delicious. Granted, the corn bread could be sugared plastic. Biscuits taste like salty cardboard, fried green tomatoes aren't even green. Still, I can't stop myself from eating the stuck-together onion rings. And the crusty fried chicken is juicy and good. I urge my pals to try the smoked Memphis ribs and skip the dried-out baby backs. Everything comes on a hill of soggy French fries. Cold mac 'n' cheese is an insult even in junk-food heaven, but a sizzling replacement disappears in minutes. It's impossible to predict what the kitchen will be doing a week from now. Not this pitiful peach pie, I hope. We leave, exhausted from shouting. Remorse at what I've consumed weighs heavily. Or is that just indigestion?"

Continue Reading »

but that’s where my defense of BET, also known as Black Entertainment Television, better known as Booties Everywhere Television for its parade of buxom babes bearing all but all, stops. I debated posting this here, as I’m guessing that iDiva has a fair amount of white Divas visiting. And it’s not as if white folks don’tknow [...]Continue Reading »

It never occurred to me to ask my waitress where all the people who belonged to those cars were.

I just figured I was missing a big party – but lucky for me, I did not.

The next morning, over a Diet Coke at the Rather Sweet Bakery (and God knows, if I weren’t watching my weight, I’d have been so chowing down on pasty chef Rebecca Rather’s bacon and cheddar scones) the head of the Fredericksburg CVB, Ernie Loeffler, cleared up the mystery for me.

All those pickups and cars were place-holders for the folks coming into town to see the parade for the Gillespie County Fair. And, he joked, ‘you’ll see just about every tractor in the county.’

And every beauty queen – from the Gillespie County Fair Queen and her court to the Luling Watermelon Thump Queen, there’s nothing like a parade in Texas to bring out the beauty queens.

Some of the girls wore matching evening gowns, others were dressed in jeans, boots and coordinated Western shirts. No matter their attire, all had the parade wave and the smile down.

Floats from the insurance agency, the nursing home (complete with residents in rockers) and local radio stations shared the route with elaborate offerings from local wineries and the H-E-B, the semi-official grocer of Texas.

To me, this is the real Texas – a community coming together, a wholesome fair with agriculture competitions, and beauty queens.

(Since I forgot my camera, look for the photos from the parade in a day or so!)

Continue Reading »

NASA has announced that the next time the space shuttle Discovery launches it will take with it some precious cargo, Luke Skywalker’s original lightsabre prop.

I do not know why.

Perhaps to prove that our dorks are the superior dorks in the Universe.

I just watched a man in a Chewbacca outfit hand the blessed artifact over to officials at the Houston Space Center.

Good job guys.

I don’t suppose you could stop screwing around long enough to… I don’t know… invent a real damn lightsabre?

Or maybe one of those hoverboards from Back to the Future 2?

I’m still pissed I never got one of those.