Spirit of Memphis
Calkins: My highly controversial plan for the Grizzlies’ offseason
Here are the two things the Memphis Grizzlies absolutely have to do this offseason if they want to contend for an NBA title. I believe they’ll do both.
Geoff Calkins
Columnist
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
There are 1059 articles by Geoff Calkins :
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June 2021
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Memphis GrizzliesCalkins: ‘We’ll be back,’ says Morant. And Memphis can’t wait.
Yes, the Utah Jazz bounced the Grizzlies out of the playoffs Wednesday. But their 20th season in Memphis will go down as one of the most promising in franchise history.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: The Grizzlies are down 3-1 — but Memphians should be thrilled
The Grizzlies lost to the Utah Jazz Monday to fall behind in their playoff series. So how come it felt like another great night for the Grizz?
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May 2021
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Memorable night at FedExForum ruined by Mike Conley heel turn
It was a wonderfully unruly night as playoff basketball returned to FedExForum Saturday. Until our old friend Mike Conley ruined everything.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: The NBA playoffs are back in Memphis, ya hear me?
Four years after the last NBA playoff game at FedExForum, more than 10,000 Memphians will convene Saturday to celebrate a new era of postseason basketball in the city. This team might be even more audacious than that one. Just read the Growl Towels.
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Memphis GrizzliesCalkins: Like the great Ja Morant himself, the Grizzlies will be back
Memphis didn’t win Game 2 in Utah Wednesday. But any Grizzlies fan who watched the game had to be pumped. The Grizzlies now have home-court advantage and the best player in the series. Saturday night at FedExForum should be wild.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Want a wild scene at FedExForum for Grizzlies? Show up.
No, the Grizzlies won’t have a full house for Saturday’s Game 3 against the Jazz. But that’s no reason to be angry. Buy a ticket and soak it in. The Grizzlies will have more people in the building Saturday than since before the pandemic. It’ll feel like playoff basketball is supposed to feel.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Dillon Brooks may be loco, but he just beat the Utah Jazz
Dillon Brooks is just crazy enough to think the Grizzlies can beat the Utah Jazz. Which is exactly what they did Sunday night.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: How the NBA playoffs became a Memphis party (with Mike Conley, as host)
When Mike Conley was traded to the Utah Jazz, everyone said the trade was “win-win.” But nobody expected the Grizzlies would do this much winning, this soon.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Ja Morant and his ‘team full of dogs’ make it an epic night
The incandescent Morant and the Grizzlies traveled to California and knocked off Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. It may not have been the biggest upset in Grizzlies postseason history. But it was a beautiful night.
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: It’s Memphis vs. Golden State in epic Battle of the Bridges
OK, their bridge is more famous. And their team is more famous. But here’s why the Grizzlies can beat the Warriors — and claim eighth place in the Western Conference — in Sunday’s Battle of the Bridges.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: The new Grizzlies rock the Grindhouse with an old-school postseason win
The Grizzlies won the first postseason game of the NextGen era Wednesday night. It was an important moment for the new edition of the Grizzlies. But that’s not all it was.
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Memphis GrizzliesCalkins: Yes, the Grizzlies will be better for losses like this
Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors taught the Grizzlies some painful lessons Sunday. Let’s hope Ja Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies take those to heart.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Get your rest, Grizzlies, because Steph Curry and the Warriors lie ahead
The Grizzlies defeated the Kings Thursday to set up a game against the Warriors for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. So take a load off, Grizzlies. It’s one of the biggest regular-season games in franchise history.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Yes, the Grizzlies are in the play-in! (And the hated Pelicans are not)
The Grizzlies are in the play-in! The Grizzlies are in the play-in! And if that doesn’t merit a champagne shower, it’s a real accomplishment. Just look at the New Orleans Pelicans.
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Spirit of Memphis Calkins: Mom who gave birth while in a COVID coma celebrates Mother’s Day at home
When Susie Espinosa went to the emergency room last May, she prayed she’d be home to her three children soon. Instead, she spent eight weeks in a coma. Her recovery — supported by an ICU nurse who’s also a mom — is a testament to the power of perseverance and love.
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Spirit of Memphis Calkins: Arnold Perl helped build a better Memphis
People rolled their eyes when Arnold Perl said FedExForum would be built on time and on budget. And he was right. Perl died this week at the age of 81. He leaves behind a better and more optimistic city.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: After a year of emptiness, baseball has returned to AutoZone Park
Sure, there was a rain delay. But after 610 days and nights without baseball in Memphis, what’s another two hours? It was a wet (but glorious!) night at AutoZone Park as the Redbirds made their return.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Dancing back to No. 1
After an eight-year drought, Memphis Pom won a national championship in hip-hop. The inside story of how Memphis reclaimed its spot atop the dance universe.
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April 2021
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: It’s time for the Grizzlies and Taylor Jenkins to stop screwing around
After Wednesday’s humiliating loss to Portland, the Grizzlies have 11 games to stake their claim to the playoffs. It’s time to stop screwing around with the rotation — and play the guys who will win.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Ja Morant wants you at FedExForum (and now you can eat at your seat!)
Ja Morant issued a call for Grizzlies fans to come to FedExForum for the team’s playoff push. It has been a tricky year for in-person attendance. But more and more fans are trickling back.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: On the sweet pleasure of beating the evil Trail Blazers
On the sixth anniversary of the game in which the Portland Trail Blazers broke Mike Conley’s face, the Grizzlies swept the evil Blazers (and reminded us how intense NBA basketball can be).
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: Robert Pera, Marc Gasol and sections 103 & 104 fans help FedExForum usher get a new kidney
Grizzlies owner Robert Pera contributed $10,000 to a GoFundMe for LaVelt Hill, a longtime usher at FedExForum who needs a kidney transplant. The fundraiser is a tribute to Hill and the team’s extended family.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: For Memphis basketball and the Lawson family, there may be a happy ending
Nearly eight years after K.J. Lawson committed to Memphis, his two younger brothers are headed there, too. It’s an improbable twist in a messy basketball saga. May it end in the NCAA Tournament.
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Memphis Grizzlies Calkins: Jaren Jackson Jr. makes a (not very) triumphant return
Jaren Jackson Jr. returned to play for the Grizzlies Wednesday night. That’s the good news. The bad news was the rest of the game.
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