The Early Word: Letter alleges NCAA violations; remembering Chef Kramer
Good morning, Memphis. It’s Thursday, Sept. 5, and Collierville may be getting caffeinated. The suburb’s Planning Commission will consider a proposal for the Memphis area’s first Dutch Bros coffee chain today.
Down in Victorian Village, the neighborhood CDC is asking for public input on how to better utilize the area’s football-field-sized city park. They’re hosting a meeting tonight with music and drinks. You could go to that, or you could put on some soft pants and curl up on the couch for “Fight Night,” the new Craig Brewer-produced Peacock TV series with Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson and Taraji P. Henson. Pass the popcorn.
Whew, it’s been a week for the Memphis Tigers basketball program. Following Tuesday’s news that Coach Penny Hardaway made major changes to his coaching staff, we learned on Wednesday that an anonymous letter was sent to the NCAA alleging widespread rules violations by the Tigers team. Among those: paying someone else to do players’ homework and big payouts for player commitments. It’s not clear if the allegations are tied to Hardaway’s decision to let go of coaching staffers Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips, Jamie Rosser and Demetrius Dyson. Our own Geoff Calkins thinks the firings are pretty dramatic and dubbed the day they were let go as “Black Tuesday.” But turnover seems to be common on Hardaway’s staff, and we’ve got a look at everyone who’s ever worked under him and what happened to them.
“[Jackson Kramer] was an influencer before TikTok, a culinary leader and an inspiration to many young talents ...” said Stephen Hassinger, former restaurateur.
Hassinger and other friends and colleagues remembered chef and restaurateur Jackson Kramer, who died on Monday at age 44 after four cancer battles. Kramer became the chef at Interim at age 28 and later went on to open Bounty on Broad in 2014.
Plus, new University of Memphis athletic director Ed Scott is worried about ticket sales, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office wants big bucks for jail repairs and you’re one step closer to buying Beaver Nuggets in Fayette County.
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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. She’s a diehard morning person who spends her free time running marathons and ultras. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South.”
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