DWash Speculation and The Same Ole Grizz Story

This kid watched the Grizzly game last night. 0-2 and smoked by Dallas last night. That game last night was over in the second quarter. So Eddie Jones took all the players out to eat the other night... did they all get food poisoning?

The whole team stunk. The first quarter they came out and played, and then it all fell apart. I was flipping channels by the 3rd quarter. Herrington and I talked about this on the show yesterday... it is amazing how much more athletic and fast the Mavericks are. They run down loose balls, they beat everyone off the dribble, and it is embarrassing. That shriek I heard from downtown was the Grizzlies business office pondering game 3 ticket sales. At this point I am going to try to be positive... how about the Grizzlies just make this losing streak like Dimaggio's hit streak... unbreakable. How predictable was this. Break out the brooms.

Now to the Dwash speculation... I have heard from people that know that it has at least been talked about that if Darius does not go and play pro basketball, that no matter what, he would not come back to Memphis, but could play college bball again. I would have shrugged this off as total bologna yet it was backed up with an interesting option (and the source is someone close to many involved with DWash). It is no secret that Darius idolizes his father. Those close to the dad will tell you that he and Calipari are hardly good friends, and have had there differences. The option would be this... if it does not work out for him like he thinks, he would move to Florida, work out for a year, and then transfer and play at South Florida. Totally crazy? Maybe. Do people that know the situation much better than I think this is out of the question? No. I could care less either way, but it is intriguing. Maybe there is something to it...

Verno

Grizz/ Mavs game 1 etc.

What a load of crap that was last night. It is a mantra of the program that as a fan, all you can expect is that your team gives it everything they have got. If it is not good enough, so be it. You want to feel like they left it all on the court. The Grizzlies did not. Totally unacceptable.

Pau is Pau. I did not expect much different. He has had a great season and is an excellent player, but you cannot put the burden of carrying a team on him in the postseason. You never will be able to. Some may consider it a knock, but K.G. is the same way, so take it for what it is worth. I take this first part back, his first half was actully worse than I expected, that is usually when he is good.

Dirk was the real All-Star. Big time players come up big.

Atkins is Atkins. He is a decent backup point guard. Awful last night.

I have long said that the guys I want on my team are the guys I would like to take to a street fight (not talent wise, attitude wise). There are two guys I would take off this Grizzly team-- Shane and Eddie.

Miller may be the better 6th man, but the Mavs use theirs better (Stackhouse).

When one team has more talent, you can bridge the gap somewhat with hustle. Dallas was the team that played with more heart, desire, and passion. That is freaking sad.

Verno

Herrington comes up big

Great Grizzlies/ Mavs Preview from Chris Herrington (Show contributor, Memphis Flyer Grizz writer)

You can read it here.

I will be back with my thoughts on Game 1 after the game.

Verno

Todays Show

Former Grizz Assistant (Son of Hubie) Brendan Brown on the show for the first hour to breakdown the playoffs. Sorry for no post on the playoffs yet, having Brendan Brown makes up for it.

Also on the show... Gary Parrish, Phillip Rivers, Bert Sugar, and bologna.

Verno

Grizzlies Playoff Schedule

I will post tommorow on the series and what to look for. Today we have the Grizz Power Hour with Grizz PBP man Eric Hasseltine from 3-4. Who guards Dirk?

Here is the breakdown
Dallas vs. Memphis
Game 1 - Sun April 23 Memphis at Dallas 8:30PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 26 Memphis at Dallas 7:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Sat April 29 Dallas at Memphis 4:30PM TNT
Game 4 - Mon May 1 Dallas at Memphis TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed May 3 Memphis at Dallas TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 5 Dallas at Memphis TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 7 Memphis at Dallas TBD TBD TBD

Ingram Hill on the show yesterday

Justin Moore, the lead singer of Memphis band Ingram Hill, was on the show yesterday and played a couple of songs for everyone. They are playing at Newby's on Friday in a charity event for the Phoenix Club and the Boys and Girls Club of Memphis.

There are a lot of kids here displaced because of Katrina, and the Boys and Girls Club needs your help to be able to maintain their help for all the new children here in Memphis. You can get tickets @ newbysmemphis.com or check out ingamhillmusic.com for more info.

They had 2 top 25 Billboard nationwide hits on the last album, new album out at the end of August. I bet this one blows them up.

I will try to get the clips up soon.

Verno

Thanks Albert

That a boy Pujols. 3 jacks yesterday saved the series for the Cardinals. It would have been brutal to lose 2 of 3 to Cincinnati. The pen still stinks, but Albert made up for it.

I went to the Redbirds game on Friday and they won a game. If William Macy was the Cooler, I am the Heater. They lose 9 straight and I am not there, then I go to the game and they win, you splain it. I really didn't care if they won, and to be honest, I end up talking the whole time and mildly paying attention. I never have a bad time there, ever. Autozone Park is still a jewel. Most arenas get uncool pretty quickly, but not that place.

Over the weekend thoughts...

When is Bonds gonna start hitting? Is ESPN really gonna show me every single ab if he stays a sub .200 hitter?

I spent Easter watching every baseball game I could on that Directv package I bought. I watched the Boston/ Seattle game, and with all the roids talk constantly surrounding baseball I questions pretty much everyone.

Which leads me to this... Adrian Beltre. This guy hit 48 HR's and batted in 121, while hitting .334 two years ago. He was a machine. He was locked and was killing the ball every game. I watched that guy yesterday and he was horrific. He had no chance at the plate. What could it be? You tell me. All I know is that is not the same guy at the plate at all.

Adrian Beltre
AVG. HR RBI SLG
2004 .334 48 121 .629
2005 .255 19 87 .413

This year he is hitting .119 (or less) and has 0 RBI's. And some say they don't help...

Everyone is starting to get really confident the Grizz will win a playoff game this year because the playoffs are close (did they feel this way a month ago?). Hubie's 50 win team was a better team than this team. I saw them get swept. I will be surprised if the Grizz win more than 1 game against Dallas. Just keepin it real.

I hear that if Shawne Williams leaves, he will sign with super-agent Arn Tellum. I have seen Shawne recently and he wasn't hanging with guys that are telling him to stay in school.

When is Chris Shelton gonna stop hitting homeruns? Seriously.

In the Ipod...

Matisyahu (Youth)
David Gray (Lost songs 91-95)
Ben Harper (Both sides of a Loaded Gun)
White Stripes (Elephant)

It's never about the money here.

Verno

WARNING: EMOTIONAL POST Why are you smiling....ever.

We are less than 2 weeks into the season and I already hate you Izzy. Get injured.

Dirk's Second Career

Here is the song that we we played on the show today. I will pray relentlessly that the Grizzlies play the Mavs in the playoffs so we can play this everyday.

dirk_nowitzki-courtside.mp3

Grizzly Power Hour with Eric Hasseltine today @ 3. Holler.

Verno

Cal stays and the T Wolves are bums

All is well that ends well? It went on too long and it got too personal, but in the end, it worked out. Coach Cal is staying in Memphis. This situation could and should have been avoided if

a. The administration would have made it more of a priority (i.e. not having to cancel meetings), and if

b. Cal had an agent (don't negotiated face to face with your boss, it becomes personal and emotional).

But, in the end, the Tigers have their coach back. Pat Forde has a great article about coaches and salaries that mentions John's situation. You can read it here.

The T Wolves are tanking the season on purpose in order to ensure that they keep their lottery pick in tact and don't lose it to the Clippers. What is even worse is that they are tanking to try to keep the pick after making a seriously ridiculous trade (Cassell for Jaric). They brought a glorified NBDL team into the Forum last night and left KG, Ricky Davis, and Anthony Carter at home.

random thoughts...

I watch Bonds on Bonds, and, I admit, I like to watch it.

Anna Benson is incredibly overrated.

If you are a guy, and you wore capri pants (ever), stab yourself today to atone for your sins.

My inclination is that Leinhart will be a Titan, Vince Young will be a Cardinal, and Deangelo will be a Viking.

My father carries around the picture of the kid who came with his wallet. R.D.

Verno

The Masters, the weekend, Latrell Sprewell, and the Greatest Video ever

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Jerry West speaks the truth

"That's when you need everybody on the same page," West said. "It makes a significant difference when the fans get behind you. We need that and we need to play at a higher pace than we've been playing."

Thank you Jerry. We have spent an enormous amount of time on the show talking about this exact subject. The product is why people come to the games, the "main attraction" is the actual game, and the actual games are boring on a regular basis. Win or lose, you are regularly getting a tough game to watch.

You have to have a product that people enjoy watching. Look at the teams that were down at one time that now have a ton of excitement and fans. Dallas, Phoenix, Sacramento, etc. They have gotten big players, which certainly helps, but they also all play an exciting brand of basketball. Golden State is not very good this year, but they are drawing better than they have in a long time. Why? Because they are fun to watch. The Grizzlies need to be more fun to watch, especially in a small market, and Jerry seems to get it.

Stream of consciousness...

I am pretty sure I am the only person in the world that will watch the World Baseball Classic

Yesterday Deangelo Williams and Brodie Croyle joined us on the show. I will try to replay Deangelo today because it was on very late notice.

I said yesterday on the show that I would bank on Shane Battier being invited to the Olympic team, and he has. After we saw that Bruce Bowen was invited and that they wanted these type of guys, it makes sense. Coach K in charge, it was a no brainer. SHANE WILL BE ON THE SHOW TOMORROW.

We have gotten a ton of calls at the station saying that the signal is significantly better. That is good.

I would not draft Vince Young. You have to be able to deliver a pass, under pressure, from the pocket, accurately. He has not proven he can do this. If you are a major threat running, and not a major threat passing, a team should not mortgage the future on this player. The timeline for effectiveness is low, no matter what you got on the Wonderlic.

Surely the NFL will not have a work stoppage, will they?

In the Ipod...

Master of Puppets, Metallica
I feel like beating someone up. I probably can't, but this music makes me feel like I could.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
This guy sounds exactly like David Byrne from the Talking Heads. If you like the Talking Heads, you will like these guys. I stumbled on it looking for something else on ITunes.

Kill Bill 2 Soundtrack
One of my favorite movies, and the soundtrack is good. I don't know what half of the songs are saying, but I like them.

Thanks for listening to the show, tell a friend.

My name is Jonas, I am carrying the wheel.

Verno

Pau Gasol, Harlan T. Bobo, and whatever

So I get my Sunday morning paper yesterday, open up the sports section, and what do I find? An article by Don Wade entitled "Go easy on Gasol." Why do I have to read this same article every few months? This particular one was written to Gasol bashers, and it is the same premise as all of these types... He is the best we have got, so lay off.

WAKE UP! That is why he takes more heat. The most hilarious part was the opinion that if you are gonna rip into Pau, then you better rip into Lorenzen, and Bobby, etc.

Have you ever read another paper in your life? When it is 3-2, bases loaded, Yankees tied, and Arod is at the plate, if he strikes out, he has choked, and it is front page news. If Rueben Sierra does, so what? That is what comes along with being the big money guy. READ THIS CAREFULLY PAU LOVERS........ THAT IS WHY PAU IS PAID MORE, MORE IS EXPECTED OF HIM. The day Bobby Jackson is paid 14 mil a year, and the franchise is built around him, you will hear the same from fans.

Now I will imagine that I am considered a "Gasol Basher." Why? Because I praise AND criticize. Truly a novel idea. He was a bearded animal that was killing it at the beginning of the year, and then he was same old Pau. There is no fairness when it comes to him in the paper, because he is an incredibly likeable guy. No one has ever ripped him in that paper, ever. All the fans that are watching the same game, that are hard on him, all see something different I suppose.

All you ever read is how he is the best we have here and people should back off. There is praise and criticism, and one is obsolete in our paper. Unless. of course, it is someone they do not want to make mad, or do not care about making mad.

The best part about the recent Pau love is when it was written.

Pau was incredible on Saturday night, absolutely awesome (see how this works). He won that game for the Grizzlies. He took over and absolutely looked like an All-Star
.
The problem is that the article was written before the Grizzlies won that game. Who knows if it was after the Clipper game, where Elton Brand looked like the only All-Star on the court, or even before that. Either way the timing is high comedy. The guy can play like crap, the team can be losing at a rapid pace, and we read "Go easy on Gasol." Thank God some of us understand fans and fairness.


In the IPOD

Harlan T. Bobo.... Too Much Love
This CD is unreal. I read the article in the Playbook on Friday about this guy, and I went and got the CD. I was blown away. This is the best CD by a Memphis artist I think I have ever heard (and I love Cory Branan and Lucero). The second track "you left your door unlocked" is one of the best songs I have heard in a long time. This guy was the best kept secret around here. I know the Flyer had written about him, and given him high praise before, but I missed it. Cory Branan had told me I needed to see this guy a long time ago, now I know why. I absolutely love this record. Great break-up album.

Ryan Adams... Heartbreaker
After telling Gary about the Harlan CD, he told me that if I wanted to hear another break-up masterpiece, that I needed to get this record. He was right. I am not sure what it is, but I love hearing someone else's misery. I guess most of us have been through it, so it resonates.

Oasis... What's the story? (morning glory)
When all of the songs became hits, it wore me out. Now I pop in this music years and years later and I realize that I cannot deny it. This is one of my favorites. It got played out too much, but it is great. "Don't look back in anger" is one of my favorite songs of all-time.

Stream of consciousness

An usher stopped me last night at the Grizzlies game and said, "Chris, you are right, I have been here for 4 years, and this year is boring basketball, these crowds are dead."

It is my mantra that the Grizzlies and many teams are overcoached. This is never more evident than last night when the Grizzlies played the Houston Rockets. It is 100% totally absurd that Jeff Van Gundy throws the clamps on a team that has a roster built to run. Rafer Alston (he is only good in open court game), Stromile Swift (half-court basketball renders him useless), David Wesley (great pure shooter who could get a ton of 3's in transition), and I could go right down the roster.

Even more puzzling is the fact that you have Yao and McGrady, two young guys in their prime, and they walk up the court to play in a game where they have twice the amount of contested shots as opposed to if they were running. The Rockets have been hobbled by injury, but this is how they do it with a full compliment of players also, and I will never understand.

On a side note.... A report came out today that Yao is not even the first or second highest selling jersey in China. 1. McGrady 2. Iverson 3. Yao

The Tigers are getting better, I think, but it hurts that we have to wait until March 2nd to see them play anyone but Popsicle State.

Everyone keeps telling me that the signal is better.

How can I get excited about this Super Bowl? The commercials? No story lines and no real big time stars. The only story to me is Big Ben possibly winning in his second year. Other than that, this is blah.

My buddy is in the Dominican and he sent me a text message yesterday saying that Bartolo Colon was in the airport throwing out money while kids were diving on the ground to pick it up. He said it was like Dominican Santa was in town. I wish I could throw money on the ground.

In the Ipod rotation...

Artic Monkeys (Whatever people say I am, that is what I'm not) ... I downloaded it because it is the #1 record in the UK. Diggin it.

Ingram Hill (Junes Picture Show)... Memphis band, Memphis alum and lead singer Justin on the show Friday.

Lucero (Tennessee) ... another Memphis band, I love this album, their first one.

Respect.

Verno

Full Blog update tommorow mornin

Greatest single NBA performance?

What happened last night may very well be the best performance in NBA history. In fact, I think it probably is. You have to consider that Wilt was a monster in comparison to his competition, and he was a center hitting all high % shots. Kobe has a lot of haters, in fact, he blows every other athlete away in this department. He shoots too much...
He is a ball hog...
He broke up the best thing going...
blah, blah, blah...

The real deal is that whether you like the guy or not, he is one of the greatest basketball players to ever lace em up. He is carrying a bad team. People want to talk about how he does not make his teammates better. How about the fact that they are over .500 and without him they would have won 4 games? In addition to that, he may very well become the greatest offensive player ever before it is all said and done. It will take a while for this to sink in, but 81 is as ridiculous as it gets... I think.

I was easy to predict Plummer screwing up badly in a big spot, but Delhomme? I would not have guessed that.

Take away 70% of a teams offense (Steve Smith), and you win.

After watching the Tatupu kid for Seattle, it struck me that this will turn out being one of the best defensive draft classes ever. Tatupu, Derrick Johnson, Shawn Merriman, DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Antrell Rolle, Carlos Rogers, Thomas Davis, Luis Castillo, Bryant McFadden. It has been unreal.

The Grizzlies broke their losing steak behind Mike Miller. Miller for sixth man of the year.

If it comes down to Carmelo vs. Pau for the All-Star game, Carmelo deserves it. He has been lights out for the last few weeks... oh yeah, and he is better.

The Tigers game on Saturday was visual NyQuil. 50-something fouls, that is goofy.

In the Ipod rotation....

Flipsyde.. We the People (saw them on Conan)
Stevie Wonder... Collection
Cody Chesnutt... The Headphone Masterpiece

Cal says shoot the 3.... chuck and duck

Today on the show--

Hopefully... John Sterling (fill-in for Nets pbp) Yankee PBP voice Nets win....dahhhhhhhhh... Nets win

Gary Parrish, The Return of Jimmy Denunzio (World's Greatest handicapper), Stats Norsworthy (third hour)

Have a great weekend -- I will post the picks before the games

Verno

Today Was A Good Day

As Ice Cube once did... Mike Miller decided to mess around and drop a triple-double. I have been saying for a long time that Miller should be the guy getting the second most amount of shots on this team. Pau gets more, and then it should be Miller. He is the best shooter on this team, and one of the best in the NBA. Beyond that, he is totally selfless, and I am glad that he got some credit last night nationally. The Kings are terrible. They made their run at a championship a few years ago, broke it up, and now they are a team with no chance.

Warrick was a nice revelation last night and I would love to see the Warrick/ Pau combo in the frontcourt more in the future (In the year 2000).

Gary had the gory details of how bad the new CUSA is in his article today...

The gory details
6 — Wins by the University of Memphis against teams from the six power conferences
5 — Combined wins by the rest of C-USA against the six power conferences
18 — C-USA's RPI ranking among the Division 1's 32 conferences
7 — C-USA teams with records at or below .500 heading into league play
4-9 — C-USA's record against the Sun Belt Conference (including Memphis's win over MTSU)
5-5 — C-USA's record against the Southland Conference (including Memphis's win over Lamar)

Horrific. I am not sure if they will get two teams in, unless Memphis blows the conference tourney.

At least one Packers source is saying that LenDale White will not make it past them (No. 5). Also, many believe that after Bush, White will be the second back taken. Interesting, considering the first two backs taken last year should have been from the same team (Benson ended up going before Carnell).

Welcome to the ACC Boston College... 0-3 so far.

Read Larry David's column on Brokeback Mountain...

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/CCCC9D69A0FE5A99862570ED00372109?OpenDocument

Thanks for checkin in

Verno

Stream of consciousness...

The Grizzlies have to get a point guard in order to have the ability to do anything come playoff time. I like Anthony Johnson as a guy that you might be able to get in a big deal that enables Artest to go somewhere else. Hubie always loved Johnson. I miss having Hubela around. We went from the press post game press conferences in the world, to the worst.

The Tigers have to have Darius Washington and Shawne Williams playing at a high level in order to make a deep tournament run. Also, against the big dogs, they need Dorsey to stay out of foul trouble, which seems highly unlikely.

Herman Edwards is no better than any player that demands a trade. The NFL must do something about coaches and their ability to bolt.

Marcus Vick will not be drafted. He must have read the classic How to blow an potential NFL career by Maurice Clarrett.

Why can't JJ Reddick be Jeff Hornacek? Of course, whitey is compared to whitey.

The Jets should hire the Magini guy away from Belichick.

Brodie Croyle was great on the show yesterday. We will catch up with him as we get closer to the draft.

45 in four straight games? Kobe is killing it. People say he is a ball hog. HE HAS TO BE. Who is he gonna pass to? Brian Cook? Best off-season acquisition is just like I said... Phil Jackson. Where are all the people that said Larry Brown was the much better coach to take over a sub-par team?

Shawn Marion is the most underrated player in the NBA.

Sometimes I feel like I am the only person in the world not watching Dancing with the Stars.

Never start playing Hot Shots Golf Fore on Playstation. It will consume you.

I wish Mitch Hedberg was still around.

Check the blog, it will be updated.

Thanks for listening.

Verno

Sorry for the layoff at the beginning of year

I have been getting things straight still with the move to the afternoon. Regular blog entries will be back by tommorow morning. Thanks for checking in.

In the Ipod rotation now-- new Fiona Apple (maybe I earned gay points) it's great... new The Darkness album (return of Rock and Roll)

Oh the anticipation....

Brodie Croyle on the show today, Memphis fball recruiting nugs, Gary, hopefully Michael Holley, etc.

Represent

Verno