Calkins: Memphis AD hopes for more fans at games later in year
Here's what athletic director Laird Veatch said of the season opener at the Liberty Bowl and what might get tweaked.
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 1031 articles by Geoff Calkins :
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September 2020
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: On a sweet, surreal night at the Liberty Bowl, Memphis opens its pandemic season with a win
The band was masked, the stadium was nearly empty of fans. But the Tigers won a football game at the Liberty Bowl Saturday night. For now, that will have to do.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Ja Morant has a message for the low-down coward who didn’t vote for him as Rookie of the Year
One misguided voter kept Ja Morant from being a unanimous selection as Rookie of the Year. Morant has something he wants to say to that guy.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Yes, the Memphis band will be playing at Saturday’s game — right through their masks
How can the Mighty Sound of the South be heard during a pandemic? With creativity, determination and spit containers.
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August 2020
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: After an offseason unlike any other, Ryan Silverfield is still living the dream
And there to witness the triumph of reaching game day will be his parents.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: 2020 just keeps disappointing, as Kenny Gainwell leaves the Memphis football team
Memphis running back Kenny Gainwell decided to opt out of the season six days before the opening game. It's yet another disappointment in a relentlessly disappointing year.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Collierville High suspends football games — but this isn’t about Collierville
Two individuals "specific to" the football team have tested positive for COVID-19. But the story is less about this school than the unnecessary risks inherent to high school football.
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: Leave the TSSAA? Over James Wiseman? Shelby County Schools can’t be serious
Dr. Joris Ray should get credit for his cautious approach to reopening schools and athletics. But his recent threat to take Shelby County Schools out of the TSSAA seems to be driven by old grievances.
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: What’s so secret about a high school football game? At Collierville High, apparently, everything
By banning media from a high school football game, Collierville High School taught their students a valuable lesson in leadership. The lesson: Don't be as small and as shortsighted as this.
Related story: Collierville checks temps at no-media football game
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: Le Bonheur cardiologist says concern about heart damage ‘not a reason to cancel sports’
Should parents be worried about their kids who play sports? Dr. Jason Johnson, of Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, tells us what we need to know.
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Memphis GrizzliesCalkins: Grizzlies don’t need a lottery miracle — they already got Ja Morant
Elliot Perry will be representing the team in the draft again, just like he did last year. But there's no anxiety this time around.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: For Ja Morant and the Grizzlies, this is what makes the future magnificent
The season ended with a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday. But the rookie showed the country why this will be remembered as one of the most important seasons in the history of the franchise.
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Memphis GrizzliesCalkins: Grizzlies give a feel-good season the feel-good ending it deserves
Memphis' triumph against the Bucks gave them a spot in the playoff play-in series against the Trail Blazers. It was the ending this unlikely regular season deserved.
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: The surprising truth about dropping your freshman at college in the age of COVID-19
I dropped off my youngest kid at college this week. The pandemic has changed everything about that experience. Except the stuff that matters most.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: There’s one last thing for the Grizzlies to do at Disney
After losing to the Boston Celtics, the Grizzlies' trip to Disney appears to be nearing the end. But one more great ride remains.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Memphis football is asking for your help
The campaign with season ticket holders is #KeepMemphisRoaring. The hope is that they will.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Grizzlies trip to the bubble is just so 2020
No, this isn't what the Grizzlies expected. There have been setbacks in Orlando they didn't foresee. But this year of all years, maybe y'all know how that feels.
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Sports Calkins: Good news, Grizzlies fans — Ja Morant may be ticked
After losing to the New Orleans Pelicans Monday night, the Grizzlies are now 0-3 in the bubble. But if you're looking for good news, that chip on Ja Morant's shoulder may be getting bigger, still.
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GolfCalkins: How lucky shoes and St. Jude helped win the strangest Memphis golf tournament ever
Justin Thomas relied on lucky shoes and good fortune to win the WGC FedEx-St. Jude Invitational. But St. Jude kids were once again the star of the show.
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Geoff Calkins Calkins: Steve Montgomery taught us to look for the goodness — which we must do again today
My longtime pastor, Steve Montgomery, died of injuries from a bicycle accident earlier this week. What would Steve have said to help us make sense of his death? I asked some of his close friends.
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July 2020
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: Grizzlies lose a heartbreaker — and boy, did it feel good
The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the first of eight seeding games. It was agonizing, certainly. But somehow, the agony felt wonderful.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: It’s Memphis against the world. Or at least the rest of the NBA
The Grizzlies normally save growl towels for the playoffs. But in this strangest of NBA seasons, the next eight games may be the closest thing.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: The best seat in the house
You can dwell on the disappointment of not having fans at the WGC this year. A Memphian named Rick Gardner was disappointed, too. But then he showed the sort of creativity and perseverance that we all can learn from.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: We’re shutting down high schools but not high school football? Shame on us
Of all the shameful decisions made by all our feckless leaders during this pandemic, you will have a hard time finding any more disgraceful than the decision by Gov. Bill Lee to allow high schools to resume playing football.
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Geoff CalkinsCalkins: The Golf and Games melee should worry us all (but not for the reasons you think)
The melee at Golf and Games is the kind of thing that can happen when kids don't have enough structure and supervision. Now that Shelby County Schools has decided to start out all-virtual, what does that mean for the broader community?
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