Reporter
Don Wade has been a Memphis journalist since 1998 and he has won awards for both his sports and news/feature writing. He is originally from Kansas City and is married with three sons.
There are 482 articles by Don Wade :
Research shows Americans’ depression levels have risen during the pandemic while the CDC reports that suicide among young people increased 57% from 2007 to 2018 -- suggesting there is now enhanced risk.
While the Memphis football team remains on the sideline another week because of positive COVID-19 tests, the Pac-12 says it will start play in November.
It’s probably not even possible to measure the full impact Pat Lawler has had in the 40 years he has been running Youth Villages. But the nonprofit’s growth, while insisting on tracking the effectiveness of programs, has led to a national model.
Students at Harding Academy and Evangelical Christian School are attending classes in a pandemic-altered world. It’s not ideal, it’s not 100% safe from COVID-19, and it’s going to be. But for most, it’s the better alternative. Even if you can’t hug your best friend.
Also, a sports talk radio host’s job-costing flub, and Shelby County Schools playing high school football in the spring is a nice idea, but it’s not happening.
Cops are confronting COVID-19 in an era of national "anti-police" sentiment. Local police acknowledge some reform is required, noting the emphasis on "duty to intervene." But they also say the current environment is chipping away at officer morale and may keep some young people from choosing law enforcement as a career.
Is it possible that the COVID-19 pandemic taught the American sports fan how to live without being glued to the TV? And find out how former Memphis pitcher Jonathan Bowlan is doing.
In a pandemic-altered world, these Memphis attorneys are among those appreciating diversion and Thursday's return of the NFL.
Young adults in Youth Villages' LifeSet program already were living on the edge. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and things got tougher. Fortunately, many of the LifeSet clients have, with help, found a way to march on toward their goals.
But not even a pandemic could lessen the joy Terry Rooker felt when he saw his son playing for Minnesota Twins on TV.
Memphis 901 FC's Tim Howard gets a second gig, and two towering figures who died this week: John Thompson Jr. and Tom Seaver.
On Saturday night, Memphis and Arkansas State will play a college football game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium but ESPN's announcers will be in a Bristol, Connecticut, studio. But this is what it takes to make college football happen.
Also, the Big Ten considers winter football in domes, and Memphis football's opener gets a prime-time slot on ESPN, which will benefit recruiting.
After five years, the debt on Jeff Green is finally paid ... unless it's not. Some draft projections have Precious Achiuwa slipping. And broadcaster Thom Brennaman has probably silenced himself for a while.
If you hold a high school football game amid a pandemic, they will come — but only about 400 of them, because that's what social distancing and other protocols will allow.
Doing all they can to avoid the fate of the conferences that have shut down.
The Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878 in Memphis spawned new words, such as "Stranger Fever," and changed people's thoughts and actions. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its "social distancing" and "new normal" is not so different. History has provided an echo.
Some doctors have sounded the alarm about the effects after recovering from COVID-19; it's not too early to consider alternate NCAA basketball tournament formats; and Christian Brothers University has shut down some fall sports until Jan. 1
Sam Allen, now 84, remembers a final summer with Memphis that afforded him the chance to play baseball even as players suffered discrimination.
Health officials offer no guarantees but believe the odds of getting through the school year – albeit with some positive COVID-19 cases or even clusters – is reasonably good, assuming all those involved remain vigilant about social distancing and wearing masks and the overall community's transmission rate continues the recent downward trend.
Laird Veatch warily eyes the status of the football season; Mike Norvell's best player makes his position clear; and an innocently made but still offensive gesture at a baseball game lands a coach in trouble.
Positive COVID-19 tests have postponed seven Cardinals games and left the team, including the first base coach, stranded in a Milwaukee hotel.
The Grizzlies are 0-2 so far in the Orlando bubble, and slow starts to games have hurt them. But the confidence of young stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. is as strong as ever.
COVID-19 claimed Tom Marino's life and maybe his brother Steve's, too. Family and friends don't treat that as summary of Tom's life, but more of a footnote to be heeded.
In this week's Sports Notebook: ESPN takes a deep look at the NBA's relationship with China; college football conferences amending schedules amid the pandemic; St. Louis Cardinals one of six MLB teams shut down, and the season might be at risk.