If given the chance, Memphis should jump to the Pac-12. It isn’t even a close call. 

“Ryan Silverfield called the win over Florida State ‘monumental.’ It was certainly that. Indeed, there is an argument that it was the most important win in program history.”

The North Carolina men’s basketball team and the South Carolina women’s basketball team are coming to Memphis. for a nationally televised doubleheader to benefit St. Jude. And just wait until you hear what St. Jude is hoping to do next.

Related content:

Tigers basketball to host North Carolina, South Carolina in games benefiting St. Jude

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.

Related content:

Memphis AD: Hardaway will ‘absolutely, unequivocally' stay Tigers' coach

“Penny Hardaway has fired Rick Stansbury and three other staffers just weeks before a new season begins. The continuing chaos is not ideal.”

Memphis crushed North Alabama in their first game at the Liberty Hole, also known as Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The place looked really strange. But in a good way.

The comedian, DJ, video producer and ‘poet laureate of Alabama football' is new to Memphis-Shelby County Schools. But he’s not as new to Memphis as you might think.

Linda Sklar was hired to bring middle-class families back to Memphis schools. For roughly 50 years, she did that and more. She built optional programs that inspired hundreds of people to stand in lines. 

It’s the perfect way to honor Fletcher’s legacy — and to continue to spread her light.

Dr. Jon McCullers became an influential leader of the Mid-South’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of that, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. 

Related content: 

Q&A: Dr. McCullers on how Memphis managed the pandemic — and what still makes people mad

When he was 16, Seth Rider told his family he wanted to be an Olympian. It was an audacious thing to say. But that kid from Germantown now has a silver medal around his neck. 

“They started knocking down Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Monday. The goal isn’t to have a nicer place to watch games. The goal is an invitation to a power conference. But is it too little, too late?”

Related story:

Phase 2 of Liberty Stadium renovations begins

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.

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.

High Point Terrace is staging its 75th Independence Day Parade this year. But the parade isn’t beloved because it’s big and spectacular. It’s beloved because it touches the heart. 

Scott Morris walked out of Crosstown Concourse Friday for the last time as CEO of Church Health. He’s not leaving, just changing his role. Here’s a Q&A with Dr. Morris.

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?

Ed Scott is the new AD at the University of Memphis. All he has to do is direct the largest construction project in program history, raise millions in cash, get Tiger hoops on track and lift the university into the Power 5.

Related story:

Memphis Tigers name Ed Scott athletic director

“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.”

The University of Memphis has identified a pool of candidates to interview for the job of athletic director. Among the questions those candidates will be asking: What’s up with Penny Hardaway? 

“Nobody believed Jerry West would take a job with the Grizzlies. He was too famous, too big, for this town. But West never thought that.”

Related story:

Jerry West, a 3-time Hall of Fame selection and the NBA logo, dies at 86

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. 

Ted Townsend had to answer some questions about Elon Musk and xAI on Sunday. And he couldn’t very well duck them. They were from his mom.

It was Mayor Paul Young vs. Mayor Lee Harris on the basketball court Saturday. And it was not always a pretty sight. But the impulse behind it was beautiful. Isn’t that what really counts?