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?”

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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.

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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.”

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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?

Superlo is celebrating its 80th anniversary this summer. In recognition of this moment, we attempted to discover why Memphians are so crazy about this grocery store. The answer? It isn’t just the fried chicken. (But the fried chicken doesn’t hurt). 

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

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.

Mack Weaver, the new president and CEO of Memphis in May, was asked about “the competition” in BBQ contests this year. “There’s another contest going on?” he deadpanned. Yes, Memphis, there certainly is.

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.

Two decades ago, Gabrielle Rose walked away from swimming in disappointment. Now, at 46, she’s the oldest swimmer on record to ever qualify for the U.S. Olympic trials. 

Lemmonds has a brain tumor and no health care. Why is she telling her story? “Someone reading this is going to get hit ... by a diagnosis that is going to bankrupt them,” she said.

In Munford, they knew Joseph “Rusty” McKinney as an Eagle Scout and a band kid. Saturday, the town honored him by assembling at the football stadium to form a giant, solemn M.

Mayor Paul Young had a direct request for Memphis Tuesday: Don’t leave. Here’s why he made the request. And why it made a lot of sense. 

After nearly four decades, Memphis theater producer Mike Detroit found a full brother he never knew existed. It’s a mystery that could be a miniseries. But even Detroit warns: “There are parts you may not believe.”