The Tigers didn’t just defeat SMU at FedExForum Tuesday night. They showed the ability to fight back.

I was stunned when I tested positive for COVID. In the course of recovering, I learned a few things. 

Joe Sills — a legendary high school band director throughout West Tennessee — died of COVID-19. His former students are gathering to play a graveside concert in his honor Saturday. One of them will be playing Sills’ own silver trumpet. 

After months of frustration, the Tigers’ performance against Wichita State was reason to exhale. 

It would have been sweeter if 18,000 Memphians had been jammed into FedExForum. But Ja Morant made sure this MLK Day game ended with a win. 

Scott Robinson, the basketball coach at Collierville High School, became close with Howard Liebengood at Memphis. He sent Liebengood a text after the Capitol was attacked. Now Robinson is mourning his friend.

The NFL has granted $200,000 to Just City as part of the league’s social justice initiative. The money is important – but so is the message the money sends.

Jonah McCoy, 8, is a patient at St. Jude. He could teach us a thing or two. 

A West Tennessee mall Santa named Gill Kiper died of a massive heart attack on Christmas Eve. But before you dismiss this as the most 2020 story ever, you should know it has joyous parts, too.

It wasn’t Penny Hardaway’s new “lion set” offense that carried Memphis to a win over South Florida. It was Alex Lomax’s Tiger pride. 

When the guard left the court in a wheelchair Monday night, Grizzlies fans reacted with all the horror you’d expect.

An old-time Christmas story, read aloud by Scott Morris, Kirk Whalum and Geoff Calkins.

Ja Morant was brilliant in the first game of his season; Brady White was triumphant in the last game of his career. Together, they made it a night that Memphians won’t soon forget. 

On the day Memphis announced a five-year contract extension for Penny Hardaway, the Tigers looked utterly inept in losing to Tulsa.

The Evansville transfer became eligible to play just hours before Memphis and Tulane tipped off Wednesday. For a beleaguered Tigers team, it may have been just in time.

Hardaway called it his “hardest loss.” Memphis fans may share that sentiment. There also is a seed of concern that he might not be able to get this team to the NCAA tournament.

This Memphis football team isn’t the greatest team ever. But there’s never been one with a greater will to win. 

For White and the Liberty Bowl, it was love at first sight. On Saturday, White plans to bid farewell with another win. 

Gail Hackney danced for hours, volunteered and mentored. She may have been 75 years when she died of COVID — but she had a whole lot more to give. 

Memphis lost to Tulane Saturday, ending any hope of reaching a fourth straight championship game. Maybe that means the season was unsuccessful. Or maybe, in the time of COVID, we should reevaluate what we mean by success. 

Jimmy Thomasson led a quiet life in Midtown. When he died, a stunning outpouring of tributes revealed just how many people he touched by being the best neighbor anyone could want.

The Tigers made their return to FedExForum Wednesday night. They got the win they needed, but there’s no way of knowing if they found answers to their questions.