Rise and grind, Memphis. It’s Friday, April 18, and the Memphis Grizzlies’ playoff fate will be decided tonight in a play-in elimination game against the Dallas Mavericks. Some think the Grizzlies should lose for the sake of next year’s draft pick, but let’s just drown them out with a spirited chant of “Whoop That Trick.”

Also tonight, the Memphis Showboats play the Michigan Panthers, and well, thoughts and prayers. The team just lost their head coach again, and they haven’t won a game yet. 

Saturday brings music and movies. There’s the Mempho-produced Shell Daze Music Festival with Boston-based funk band Lettuce at the Overton Park Shell. And the “Time Warp Drive-in” is back with the theme “Future Unknown.” The name is a nod to the Philip K. Dick film adaptations they’ll be screening, but it could also apply to the Malco Summer Drive-In’s uncertain future. 

Easter is on Sunday, and so is 4/20, so it’s basically a choose-your-own adventure holiday situation. For more things to do, check out our weekly list of, well, things to do.

THE NEED TO KNOW

More than 10 international students at Christian Brothers University have lost status to be in the United States. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

ICE targets CBU students: More than 10 international students at Christian Brothers University have had their visas revoked and are being asked to leave the country, according to a local lawyer. That news follows a story from Thursday about five University of Memphis students who also had their visas revoked. Now, Rhodes College is trying to get ahead of the issue to give new recruits more assurance. Local immigration lawyers consulting on some of the cases from both schools said, from what they can tell so far, the affected students had minor tickets or infractions with law enforcement. The Daily Memphian’s Jane Roberts gathered reactions from students and administrators on Thursday.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools buildings are a fraught centerpiece of the district’s budget, set for presentation to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners later this April. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

MSCS may demo old schools: Memphis-Shelby County Schools is trying to sell some of its old vacant school buildings, as well as the Bayer building on Jackson Avenue that was once slated to become the district’s new central office. But if vacant buildings aren’t sold by the end of June, they could be demolished. Here’s a map of properties for sale. The real-estate plan was debuted by former Superintendent Marie Feagins, weeks before she was fired, and it’s continued in her absence. And some buildings are actually selling: Charter operator Capstone Education Group bought two in February.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy has fought back against state Sen. Brent Taylor’s claims against him. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Mulroy probe to state high court: The next step in state Sen. Brent Taylor’s battle against Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy may involve the Tennessee Supreme Court. Taylor’s resolution calling on the Tennessee Supreme Court to create a panel to investigate Mulroy and two other state district attorneys passed in the Senate on Wednesday. If established, the panel would also look into Glenn Funk, Davidson County district attorney, and Chris Stanford, the district attorney for Warren and Van Buren counties.

The February indictment of Shelby County Commissioner Edward Ford Jr. has been the backdrop for the County Commission’s discussion about possibly changing its grants process. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Come with receipts? A Shelby County Commission committee has been weighing ideas for how to improve its community-grant program, after County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. was indicted on federal bribery charges related to grants he pushed for. Among the suggestions: A requirement that nonprofits provide receipts for how they spent their grant money. See the other ideas here. Commissioner Britney Thornton said the allegations against Ford shouldn’t be considered in deciding what, if any, changes should be made to the grant program. But not everyone agreed. 

QUOTED

“We got a sheet, and it looked like Memphis was bleeding all over the place from the way ... the cuts were done.”

— State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis
The Tennessee General Assembly passed a $60 billion state budget this week, and a number of Memphis programs are seeing big cuts. Among them: Memphis Allies, the anti-gun violence group that was targeted by a mass shooting last week. There is still money in the budget for Downtown safety improvements though.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Memphis Tigers guard PJ Haggerty reacted after scoring a 3-point basket against Temple on Feb. 9 in Memphis. (Nikki Boertman/AP file)

Haggerty shoots for NBA: Memphis Tigers basketball star PJ Haggerty could leave the team that helped him land an All-American season. Haggerty entered the transfer portal on Thursday, saying he wants to “test the NBA Draft process.” He was named the 2024-25 AAC Player of the Year and a consensus second-team All-American during his year with the Tigers. Following that news, ESPN reported that forward Dain Dainja was also entering the portal, but that was disputed later by a post from Dainja on X. It’s not all bad news for the team: Former South Carolina guard Zachary Davis announced his commitment to the Tigers on Thursday. 

“It was like old times,” said Lou Martin said of Guy Fieri’s return visit. “We had laughs from the first show, and it felt like a real reunion.” (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Peace, love and … chicken grease: The Mayor of Flavortown really loves him some Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken. Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” first spotlighted the Memphis chicken joint in 2008. And he paid another visit back in 2023. That visit was filmed for an episode of Fieri’s popular Food Network show that’s finally airing next week. Owner Lou Martin credits Fieri for putting his restaurant on the map. “Especially in the summer, we get people from all over. …Tour buses pull up. It’s been long-lasting.” Martin just moved into a new location earlier this year, and he made sure this place had room for those buses. 

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, right, did not practice on Thursday afternoon. (Jeff Chiu/AP file)

Nah, Morant? When the Memphis Grizzlies take on the Dallas Mavericks tonight in the play-in elimination game, they could be minus their star player. Ja Morant turned his ankle late in Tuesday’s play-in game against the Golden State Warriors. He finished out the game and later told the media that he was playing on Friday. “That’s the answer I’m giving. It ain’t nothing different,” he said. But Iisalo had something else to say after Thursday’s practice. 

Great China Market is located on Summer Avenue. (Joshua Carlucci/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Supermarket sweep: If you need to go to the store for just one thing, don’t go to Great China Market on Summer Avenue. It’s the kind of place where you go in for tofu and leave with all sorts of jars of chili crisp and bags of dried mushrooms. But if you have discipline, which food writer Joshua Carlucci admittedly does not, you could score a $10 Deal. Carlucci offers some suggestions, like the soft, shiny sausage buns. In other Asian food news, a new Sichuan restaurant is opening in the old Genghis Grill in Ridgeway Trace.

GOT GAME?

Cooper-Young’s annual Porchfest started in 2021 as a pandemic-friendly way to see live music. But live bands on Midtown porches were such a good idea that Porchfest has carried on. If you didn’t go last weekend, you missed a good time. To really drive that FOMO home, here’s a Jigsaw puzzle with a Porchfest picture.

Fans watched San Saldia play in the Cooper Street gazebo during Porchfest in Cooper-Young on April 12. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Live at the Garden unveiled its 2025 concert line-up this week. If you missed it, you could just read the story. Or, for more fun, you could play the Live at the Garden Word Search instead. But hey, fun’s not for everyone.

Game-show host Wink Martindale, who had Memphis connections, died this week. So, of course we had to honor him with a game clue in this week’s 5 by 5 Crossword. 

Go, Grizz! Let’s win this thing! I need a new Growl Towel.

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