Calkins: Gene Brady is gone. The world needs more Gene Bradys.
Gene Brady, 89, died in a single-car wreck last week. Maybe you didn’t know him. But if you’re lucky, you’ve known people like him. We could use more of them today.
Topic: Geoff Calkins
RSSThere are 414 article(s) tagged Geoff Calkins:
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November 2024
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Calkins: It’s a pivotal year for Penny Hardaway — and us
“This certainly isn’t the most anticipated season of the Penny Hardaway era. But it’s the most pivotal. What lies ahead for Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers? It all begins tonight.”
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October 2024
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Calkins: As NBA season tips off, FedEx’s Richard Smith says it’s a ‘desperate’ moment for Downtown
FedEx exec Richard Smith says this is a critical moment for Downtown Memphis — and the Grizzlies, FedExForum and Beale Street may be the key.
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Calkins: It was a joyous night of basketball for Memphis. Let’s hope it’s just the start.
“Could not be any better,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., the president and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness arm of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “And next year, we’ll take it to the next level.”
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September 2024
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Calkins: Ed Scott is the man for the moment. But can he save Penny Hardaway?
Scott said Hardaway would absolutely, unequivocally be back “based on every piece of information I have right now, today.” Tomorrow, the information could be different.
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Memphis AD: Hardaway will ‘absolutely, unequivocally' stay Tigers' coach
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July 2024
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Calkins: More than four decades later, a beloved Memphis jersey finds its way home.
Forty-four years ago, after the last game the Memphis Rogues would ever play, 14-year-old Geoffrey Gaia asked Jado Hasanbegovic for his jersey. Hasanbegovic stripped off the jersey handed it to the kid.
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Calkins: A story about Ron Olson, pneumonia, a painting — and so many cats.
Olson thought he was giving away a painting of a cat. Instead, he tapped into a massive, enthusiastic and wonderfully supportive cat community he didn’t know existed before.
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June 2024
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Calkins: Why a man and his dogs stayed at Bass Pro — for a record 45 days
Jimmy Birkholz and his two dogs spent 45 days living at the hotel inside the Bass Pro Pyramid. That’s 45 days of alligators, pork rinds and elevator rides. How did it happen?
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Calkins: He lost 100 pounds — playing pickleball
“Adam Clay was always the fat guy. He endured all the humiliations that went along with that. So how did Clay finally lose 100 pounds? With a regular diet of pickleball.”
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Calkins: The mural said, ‘We can do better.’ Within weeks, it was vandalized.
A group of Crosstown High students painted a beautiful mural that said, “We can do better.” Within weeks, the mural was vandalized. So how did they respond? By doing better.
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May 2024
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Calkins: Is this the beginning of the end for U of M sports?
For years, Memphis has competed at the highest level in college sports. That is in jeopardy now. The NCAA and the Power 5 have agreed that Power 5 schools can pay roughly $20 million a year in direct payments to college athletes. How is a school like Memphis supposed to compete?
Related story:
NCAA, Power 5 leagues sign off on plan that includes paying athletes
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Calkins: These Navy operatives are among the best in the world. And they’re in Millington.
If a Navy bassoonist stationed in Hawaii busts up his bassoon or a tuba player stationed in Seattle dents her tuba, where do you imagine those instruments end up?
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Calkins: What’s it look like when a 315-pound lineman learns to swim? PURE joy.
The YMCA needs lifeguards. The football-playing kids at PURE Academy need to learn how to swim. The two organizations hit on a creative way to solve both problems. And it’s already making quite a splash.
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Calkins: The ‘mayor of Whitehaven’ is closing her beauty shop, but she has a lesson for all of us
Hazel Moore could have styled hair, taken care of her children and decided that was enough. Instead, she looked around, noticed things in the community needed doing — and figured she might as well do them herself.
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April 2024
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Calkins: Marc Gasol was made by Memphis — and then he made the city a better place
The Core Four will be back together to celebrate Marc Gasol at FedExForum Saturday night. But this celebration will be different than all the others. Because Gasol’s story is the story of a franchise, a city and a family, all wrapped up in one.
Related story:
Marc Gasol hints at potential ‘Core Four’ reunion, muses on Memphis in return
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March 2024
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Calkins: How to fix the city’s gang problem? Here’s an idea even better than a truce
Memphis Mayor Paul Young met with gang members last week and asked for a “truce.” But you know what’s better than a truce? Giving kids an alternative to joining gangs in the first place. That’s where Memphis Rox comes in. And it could use your support.
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Calkins: Why one man has walked all over Memphis — and will do it again Thursday
Every March 21, Josh Greer walks all over Memphis from daybreak to dusk. Here’s why he does it and what we can learn from his annual trek.
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February 2024
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Calkins: Pat Halloran believed in a better Memphis. Then he made it come true.
Pat Halloran’s life was celebrated in grand style Monday. There was music! There was laughter! There were stories about a larger-than-life character who fell in love with Memphis — and then made it a better place.
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Calkins: The Fowler brothers both have new hearts. So how about showing them yours?
Randy Fowler got a new heart in 1997. Wesley Fowler got a new heart in 1999 and another in 2000. Thanks to the generosity of donors, they’re both still singing, parachuting and otherwise living their lives. So on National Donor Day — also known as Valentine’s Day — how about becoming a donor yourself?
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January 2024
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Calkins: Jerome Wright knew Memphis better than anyone. He loved it better, too
Journalist Jerome Wright, 74, died Monday evening. He covered Memphis for more than five decades. He knew the place better than anyone else. But he became a beloved figure in the city because he treated everyone with kindness and respect.
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Calkins: Skiing in Memphis — and other scenes from coldest MLK Day in history
The guy who was skiing through Downtown Monday? We found him. Here’s his story and more scenes from the coldest MLK Day in Memphis since it became a federal holiday.
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Calkins: Veatch on the stadium, the realignment — and the Smiths’ gift
Laird Veatch, the University of Memphis athletic director, is finally getting his hands on a football stadium and $120 million. Now all he has to do is raise another $50 million and figure out how to rebuild his new stadium on the fly.
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Calkins: Morant is done for the season — and all of Memphis is blue
Ja Morant is out for the season and Grizzlies fans are mourning a year that just keeps getting worse. As one Memphian put it, succinctly: “I give up.”
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Calkins: The new mayor offers ‘hope.’ And, yes, that’s a start.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young offered fresh “hope” at his swearing-in ceremony. And while that won’t solve the city’s many problems, it is at least a good start.
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December 2023
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Calkins: A story about best friends, marching bands, W.C. Handy — and the Liberty Bowl
Will Plenk and Christian Carichner were once college roommates. Friday, they’ll be directing the Memphis and Iowa State marching bands at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. It’s a story about life, about friendship — and about tubas.
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