The Early Word: Top stories of 2024 and a Grizz flashback to last season
Good morning, Memphis, and welcome to another short work week — if you’re working at all! It’s Monday, Dec. 30, and if you haven’t sat down to map out some 2025 resolutions, this is a good day to do it.
Will this be the year you finally get into the best shape of your life? Or just the year you make it through every episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”? (There are 559 episodes, by the way, so you’ll need to watch at least 1.5 shows a day.) No goal is too big or small; you do you, boo. And if you need some inspo, we’ve got some stories to kick-start your brainstorming sesh. For a look at what’s ahead in this short work week, check out This Week in Memphis.
Memphis news was dominated by restaurant closings in 2024. We said goodbye to Frank Grisanti’s, Dory, Maximo’s on Broad, Knifebird and yes, Houston’s. And that wasn’t even the half of them. And when we weren’t lamenting the loss of wine flights and chicken tendies, we were being bombarded with one name (both locally and nationally): Elon Musk. The billionaire was everywhere in 2024, including right here in Memphis with his new xAI supercomputer that’s raised some eyebrows from environmentalists. Read on for a rundown of some of the biggest Memphis headlines in 2024.
On Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies won their second back-to-back game — this one against the New Orleans Pelicans — but that victory was overshadowed by another Ja Morant injury. He left the game after taking a hit to the same shoulder he had surgery on last season. (Thoughts and prayers.) It sounds bad, but our own Chris Herrington says a trade deal that didn’t happen this weekend indicates Morant might not be out too long. On Sunday, Grizzlies fans may have felt like they’d flashed back to 2023-24 season as the once-again injury-ridden team was pummeled by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Plus, Coach Penny Hardaway plays the Grinch, a local “Jeopardy” contestant wins with the most Memphis clue ever and we recap our fave eats of 2024.
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Bianca Phillips
Bianca Phillips is a Northeast Arkansas native and longtime Memphian who’s worked in local journalism and PR for more than 20 years. In her days as a reporter, she covered everything from local government and crime to LGBTQ issues and the arts. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South,” a cookbook of vegan Southern recipes.
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