Vancouver-to-Memphis connection
As the Grizzlies commemorate their Vancouver era, only two employees remain from the group that made the trip south in 2001.
Chantal Hassard and John Pugliese sit together in the stands at FedExForum Dec. 13, 2019, as they did nine years ago. Hassard and Pugliese are the last Grizzlies employees remaining from the Vancouver Grizzlies era. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Chantal Hassard and John Pugliese were 20-something Vancouverites when the Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001. As the franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary, they're now VPs on the team's basketball and business sides, helping build a new era.
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Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington has covered the Memphis Grizzlies, in one way or another, since the franchise’s second season in Memphis, while also writing about music, movies, food and civic life. As far as he knows, he’s the only member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association who is also a member of a film critics group and has also voted in national music critic polls for Rolling Stone and the Village Voice (RIP). He and his wife have two kids and, for reasons that sometimes elude him, three dogs.
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