Mike Conley on Grizzlies draft, Duff McKagan, and Fred Willard (The Audio)

Grizzlies PG Mike Conley joined us on Monday to give his thoughts on the Grizzlies draft, his view of last season and the upcoming season, playing with and against Mayo in high school, etc.
The audio is loaded below.

Also loaded in the audio player are two non-sports interviews from the past few days...

Actor Fred Willard was on the show on Friday. I think Willard is one of the funniest guys in the world. Willard talked about the new movie Wal-E (box office smash) he is in, delivering hilarious lines without laughing, etc.

Former Guns n Roses (and current Velvet Revolver) bass player Duff McKagan was on show to talk about a new music website he is involved with, being a rocker, Axl Rose and Scott Weiland, etc.

O.J. Mayo and Darrell Arthur in studio today

The two newest Grizzlies draft picks are scheduled to be in studio with us sometime in the first hour. Check it. UPDATE: They came in studio, took calls and questions
Here is the audio...

Face of the Franchise: O.J. Mayo

And just so you know...

D. Arthur was ranked #11 on the Grizzlies draft board. I think this was a steal, so do they.

Grizzlies land the greatest draft pick of all time...

Forget about O.J. Mayo...

In the deal with Love and Mayo comes the biggest draft pick in Grizzlies history, Adrina Lima

Lima is the fiance of Jaric.

If Coach Cal could have gotten Negedu, we would have Marisa Miller and Lima. Geez.

This, ladies and gentleman, becomes the best Grizzlies fan ever... (Adriana Lima)

Pass the Mayo?

So it seems. OJ Mayo, Marco Jaric, Antoine Walker, and Greg Buckner
for Miller, Love, Collins, and Cardinal. Oh well. Love Train dies but Pass the Mayo begins.
D. Arthur was acquired for Dante Greene and a future 2nd. I like Arthur and think that is an absolute steal.
Jaric is engaged to Adriana Lima so I am ok with that even though I am not in love with his contract. If Lima is at FedEx Forum or becomes a Memphis resident, I love the deal. Ha!
Mayo better ball till he falls. I hate not having Love but I am down with it.
Is Beasley stayin with Miami? Somethin has to give right?

I am hearing that Conley could be moved to Portland. Who knows?

Choooooooooo Chooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, have mercy. The one man crusade known as the Love Train has become a reality. My cup runneth over. LOVE TRAIN BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOO CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love it.

Kevin Love baby. The Fedex Forum is changin it's name to the Love Shack.

Choooooooooooooooooooooo Choooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOVE TRAIN!!!!!!!! GET ON OR GET RUN OVER!!!!

Chris Wallace and Sonny Vaccaro Audio, photoshop contest, Draft Bash

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace joined us for his weekly segment with the draft coming up tomorrow. We talked about the draft, what he thinks will happen, trades, etc.

Sonny Vaccaro joined us live from NYC to talk about the players in this draft, who the Grizzlies should take, Brandon Jennings possibly playing overseas with him being a facilitator, etc. Sonny is radio gold. If you missed it, you have to check this out. The audio of both Wallace and Vaccaro are below.


Here are some more of the Love Train photoshop entries. Some were just not good enough, but these clearly tried to put something good together...
First from Tim, who used the movie theme. I love this one...

From Andy came the O'Jays album cover theme. Dig this too. Nice Calkins implementation...

DON'T FORGET THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE PLACE TO WATCH THE NBA DRAFT ON THURSDAY NIGHT-- JASON'S DELI AT POPLAR/HIGHLAND. FREE BEER, FREE FOOD FOR CHRIS VERNON SHOW LISTENERS. THE CHRIS VERNON SHOW DRAFT BASH. BE THERE.

Buffalo Wild Wings, the Draft Bash, the contest

I am doing the show live from Buffalo Wild Wings @ Wolfchase on Wednesday. The 2nd Annual Cornhole tournament begins and there will be a prize given away at the end of the night and a grand prize at the end of the tourney. Bring a friend and get in the tournament starting Wed night.

The Chris Vernon Show Draft Bash-- I talked to the guys at Jason's Deli today and Thursday night is going to be awesome. My listeners are all invited to come to Jason's (we have a huge conference room all to ourselves) where we will have a huge projector screen showing the draft. We will have free food and free beer and it is required that you are there.

I have been getting a bunch of entries for the Love Train photoshop contest. They are great, keep them coming as the contest is still going. I am also getting some other Grizzlies photoshop ads. Dwayne dropped this one...

The Love Train photoshop contest continues...

If you send me a photoshop ad for the Love Train you can win $20 in gift cards to Jason's Deli. I am pretty sure that the one below is the one to beat so far. Trip submitted the following, which was so ridiculous I spit my drink on my keyboard (esp. with Calkins on it) even if it does use a boat theme. The more submissions, the better. Send them my way at verno@730espn.com and win the free meals.

Love Train running out of seats...

If you know how to use photoshop and can come up with a better Love Train ad than this, send it my way. verno@730espn.com. Geoff sent this first one along. Best submission will win $20 in gift certificates to Jason's Deli.

On the road this week...

We are taking the show on the road this week all over town...

Monday- We are live from Southland Park Gaming and Racing

Wednesday- Buffalo Wild Wings (Wolfchase) 2nd annual cornhole tournament begins. Cornhole is that game where you throw beanbags in the holes on a wood plank (like horseshoes). Last year was a massive success. The prizes are awesome and the tourney is an absolute blast every week. Come get in the tournament (it's free).

Thursday- Live from Jason's Deli at Poplar and Highland for the NBA draft. Free food, free beer. There is a huge conference room that we will have all to ourselves with all of the free stuff for my listeners and a huge projector screen on the wall for the draft. You have to be there, it is required.

Mic Check (6-18-08)

The TV bit (Mic Check) this week was about the Fakers losing and Pau Gasol. You can check out the tv bit every Wed night @ 9:45 on CW30 as part of Eyewitness Sports.

Bruce Pearl beats John Calipari for most important recruit ever

Bruce Pearl has defeated John Calipari for the most important recruit ever.

Emmanuel Negedu was being recruited by the Memphis Tigers. He was also being recruited by the Tennessee Vols. He commited to Tennessee this week. On the surface, this is just a top 50 player deciding to go to one school instead of the other. In reality, it is so much more than that.

Gary Parrish broke this story and after talking to him I now understand that Negedu went to the same school as the husband of Marisa Miller and Negedu is very close with Marisa and her husband. In fact, Negedu is in California right now surfing with Marisa. (luckiest kid)

Wost recruting battle to lose. Ever.

Imagine the implications. I don't care if the kid can play dead, Marisa Miller would be a Memphis fan. Now she is a Vols fan. Tennessee now destroys Kentucky in terms of best fan. Ashley Judd has got nothing on Miller. Miller would be in Memphis gear, Miller in FedEx Forum. She was just named #1 on Maxim's Hot 100 List. That is a #1 recruit.

John Calipari just got smoked by Bruce Pearl for the most important recruit ever... Marisa Miller. If the kid becomes a big time player that is just a bonus. Step your game up Cal. I thought you were supposed to be some great recruiter. Yeah right. This one will take a long time to get over.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace weekly segment

The new audio is loaded below. We talked about the Celtics winning the championship, the draft, if Juan Carlos Navarro signed with FC Barcelona, we took your calls, etc. The 3 segments are below if you missed it.

No Refunds

Did the Fakers just lose by 40? Hahahahahahaha!
Victory is mine.

NO REFUNDS!
No you cannot have Kwame Brown's expiring contract back Fakers. And oh yeah, Pau's salary goes up next year, and the year after that, and...


Hahahahahaha. What a joke. Atta boy to former fav James Posey. Nice season-on-the-line performance Fakers. Go present the Celtics their trophy Jerry West.

Kobe needs a better supporting cast starts in 3...2...1

Jeff Goodman on the Roburt Sallie commitment

Jeff Goodman from foxsports.com broke the news of the Tigers getting a commitment from new PG Roburt Sallie. He was on for his weekly segment and talked about the Sallie commitment, etc. The audio is loaded below.

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Seems like a good time for a song

What a great day. The world has seen the light. This could not have worked out any better. Memphis Pau fans are in the closet forever. The total realization that he is not even a good enough second fiddle is evident. Total vindication is mine.

Ode to Pau (Who wants a crying Spaniard?)

Grizzlies will workout Lopez and Gallinari

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace was on for his weekly segment and mentioned that the Grizzlies will have workouts with Danilo Gallinari and Brooke Lopez in Los Angeles. Gallinari intrigues me, esp. if he really is the best prospect in Europe at his age. Lopez is terrible. He is working out against a chair, and I would not be surprised if the chair takes him.
The Wallace segments, along with the Bill Romanowski interview are loaded in the player below.

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A few thoughts

For all the Kevin Love detractors, find me a guy with a 35 inch vertical leap (almost 3 feet) that is not athletic. I will have a longer Love post later in the week, but get started on that and get back to me.

Why is Beasley not considered undersized for his position and not athletic enough?

So the deal being mentioned is Beasley and trash from Miami for Mayo (that is who Miami would want at 5 if avail), Miller, and Lowry. That is what we call a no-brainer deal? Not in my book. And that would be the deal unless Miami, Minn, and Seattle all cooperate (and I highly doubt that could happen).

As long as the Finals games are played in the 80-95 pt range, Boston is fine. Pierce was awful, doubt that happens again. Looks like they will end this thing in 6. That is what I would bet on if I were Tim Donaghy.

Curt Schilling blog about Pau

God bless you Curt Schilling...

“4) I don’t know much about the NBA beyond some of the star players and the famous teams. I heard that the Lakers got Gasol in a horrible steal of a deal and that the league should have investigated the trade for some sort of punishable crime :) I saw a 7 footer last night who grabbed like 4 rebounds and spent the entire game whining about getting fouled.”

http://38pitches.com/2008/06/09/manny-jd-papi-lester-and-the-nba-finals/
Thanks to Rick for the tip

Kevin Love has an invitation for you

Below in the audio player (named Get on the Love Train)

Kevin Love from the workout

Here is the audio from the Love Train hitting Memphis. He talks about everything from the workout, what people say about him that bothers him, what he was heard about where he is getting drafted, getting dunked on by CDR, etc. Check it.

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All aboard the Love Train...

I went to the workout this morning that featured Kevin Love, Joey Dorsey, JaVale McGee, DeAndre Jordan, Jeremy Pargo, and Kyle Weaver. Given my strong opinions on players, and the fact that things can spread like wildfire on the internet (and agents could read things and get mad) I have been asked to reserve my opinions for my little radio show. I have audio from the Love Train and others and I will talk about what I saw today on the show. I am pretty sure that Herrington and 3 Shades of Blue will post their less harsh thoughts, so check them out.

Make sure I don't have it in print...

This is the moment where I smush the cold bologna sandwich known as fact in the face of the local columnist.

When I was on with Calkins and Parrish this morning, Geoff said that during the Brian Davis bid to get the franchise that I said that ownership did not matter. Could not be less true (2006). Harvard is a ripoff. Maybe next time Geoff. I have probably been wrong about something. I cannot remember, but I think might have happened. The lesson here is that if you are going to ravage me, ravage me about something I don't have in print.

The exposure of Pau Gasol continues

Honestly, could this be going any better? Pau Gasol in the second halves so far... 4 qtrs played, 7 pts scored. Not to mention he is absolutely killing them defensively. I mean, how many posters am I going to get to buy when the Finals are over? This is great. Get back in the closet where you belong Memphis Pau fans. You wanted him to win so you could say that he never got the respect in Memphis, didn't you? Does he have good enough players around him now? Please tell me again how that is all he needed. He just needed to be the second fiddle, right? Yeah, the second fiddle that watches the Leon Powe show. The Grizzlies did not deliver the Fakers a championship, they delivered them the ultimate dissapointment. O'Doyle rules.

Mic Check, Memphis Sport, and the Love Train

Memphis Sport Magazine is conducting thier second annual M Awards. I have not mentioned it up until now, but it was brought to my attention that the voting closes on Tuesday. I like this magazine and they were really great to the show last year. If you have not voted for the show yet...Vote here.

Mic Check on CW3o was about Michael Heisley and the yahoo article. Here is the bit if you missed it. Mic Check with Chris Vernon on CW30

The Love Train hits Memphis on Monday morning as Kevin Love will have his Grizzlies workout. He will be up against JaVale McGee, Joey Dorsey, and DeAndre Jordan. I cannot wait. This guy is clearly not scared to workout against anyone, while guys like Brooke Lopez will workout against a friggin chair. We will see if the strategy works for Love. I am betting it does, and he comes away looking like clearly the best prospect. Here is the video of what happened to Oregon when they played on the tracks of the Love Train...

One of the great moments in NBA history

Kevin Garnett With the Huge Put-Back Slam

Brent Musburger and Kevin Nash on the show

How is that for a combo? The two men in the title were on the Thursday show. Musburger talked about the Belmont, the Finals, and covering the 80's Lakers and Celtics. Kevin Nash talked about beating up his UT college bball coach (Don DeVoe), wrestling and the TNA event this weekend, etc. Nash is one hilarious dude. I loved him.

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Heisley captures another, draft workouts

He already had the CA pumping out his PR, but now he has the best Grizzlies blog doing the same thing. Who says the guy is bad at public relations? 3 Shades of Blue was called by Heisley this morning from Asia to defend what he said to Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo. I am mentioned as giving Adrian a forum so that he could get his "fifteen minutes." Adrian is an award-winning journalist who has worked for a lot of newspapers, espn.com, etc. He is also the author of one of the greatest sports books ever "The Miracle at St. Anthony." At 3 Shades of Blue they assume that Adrian is some blogger trying to make a name for himself and by misquoting Heisley it makes it hard for other legit bloggers. Hahahahahahhahaa. Oh for goodness sakes. The guy has been on the NY Times Bestsellers list and he is trying to make a name for himself talking about the freaking Grizzlies? Come on. 3 Shades trash Adrian and stick up for Heisley.

I am not writing anything that I have not already talked to Chip from 3 Shades about. Do I believe that Adrian misquoted Heisley or took him out of context? No. Do I agree with all of the opinions Adrien had in the article? No. Do I think that Heisley regrets what he said? Yes. Do I know that the CA will soon come out and defend him too? I would be shocked if they did not. What I told Chip is that just because Heisley says something does not mean that it is true and that you have to stick up for him. In fairness, maybe they believe him (Lord, I hope not). You may not get the access if you call him out, I get that. I understand not biting the hand that feeds you. It is a legimate concern for anyone that reports on things. You have to weigh what is more important, access or objectivity? I struggle with it too. Now Heisley has the best Grizzlies blog and the local paper pumping his PR and sticking up for him. I am a big fan of the 3 Shades blog and have mentioned that many times, not to mention that I have met most of the authors and they all seem like nice guys (and they have been pretty nice and fair with me). Sad day I say. Heisley is killing the franchise, Adrian Wojnarowski isn't.

The Monday workout for the Grizz will be awesome: Kevin Love, Joey Dorsey, JaVale McGee, DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Weaver, and Jeremy Pargo.

I will talk about the other workouts on the show.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace on the show

Wallace was in studio on Wednesday for his weekly segment and stayed the whole hour. We talked about the yahoo article where he was thrown under the bus by Heisley, we talked about prospects (get on the Love Train), the Kevin O'neill hiring, etc. Check it (in 3 parts below)

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Audio from the show

Jeff Goodman from foxports.com joined us for the weekly segment and had some Memphis Tigers basketball recruiting nuggets about players that might end up on the roster next year (including one name I have never heard mentioned before... Roburt Sallie. We also talked about what he heard at the pre-draft.

Adrien Wojnarowski from Yahoo came on to talk about this article that came out today that had Michael Heisley throwing Chris Wallace under the bus. Adrien told us his impressions of the Grizz after talking to the owner. I personally cannot believe anyone would defend this guy anymore and the mockery he has made of this organization with crap like this.

Kevin Frazier from ET called in Monday from NY after spending the day with Janet Jackson. We talked about that, a party at Prince's house, if Rhianna is hotter than Ashanti in person, the Lakers, etc.

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Anthony Randolph hits the trash bin with Brooke Lopez

I have now put Randolph in the "do not draft" class with Brooke Lopez. I listened to John Brady (his coach at LSU) on the Geoff and Gary show on Friday and that was all I needed to hear. Here is a brief look at what he said about Randolph (he did say a lot of good things about the guy, but I was listening for the negatives because I know how these prospects get blown up and all we talk about is how great they could be). Anyway, I gathered from Brady...

- Randolph will be a 3 in the league (in fact the name he used to compare him with was Tayshaun Prince). Everybody throws around Bosh as a comparison, so this was interesting. The Grizzlies have one guy they have to keep, his name is Rudy Gay, he is a 3.

- He is going to need a coach that encourages him and supports him. (uh-oh) I don't need another one of these guys. We need some A-type personalities. I am so tired of the Grizzlies having a bunch of sissies on the team.

- His motor needs to be better at times. (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) You say that about a guy and I am deathly scared. I gotta worry about another guy not playing hard? I have zero respect for guys that don't play hard.

This is what I heard from the college coach of Anthony Randolph. Coaches typically make their players seem like 10 time NBA all-stars on the court, and Mother Theresa off the court. Maybe Brady just does not do that. I don't know, but I know what the guy said.

I will go watch the Randolph workout, but for now I am against drafting this guy. He is in the trash bin with Lopez. I have no time for soft 7 footers and I have no time for guys that will have potential they do not realize because they don't give maximum effort.

I used the TV segment, MIC CHECK with Chris Vernon, begging the Grizzlies not to consider Lopez. Here is the bit if you missed it...
MIC CHECK with Chris Vernon on CW30