The Early Word: Trump lets Kelsey out; Hardaway has a Ted Lasso moment
Get your glue sticks ready. It’s Wednesday, March 12, and Ugly Art Co. is hosting a new monthly collage party tonight. They’ll have old magazines and books to cut up, plus scissors and other supplies. All you need is a vision.
Maybe you can use that time to create a vision board for the Memphis Grizzlies, who will play the Utah Jazz at home tonight. They’re back on a winning streak, and we’d like to keep it that way. Let’s manifest.
Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey of Germantown was released from prison two weeks into a 21-month sentence, ostensibly due to a presidential pardon by Donald Trump. Kelsey was convicted of using campaign money from his state legislative seat toward his failed 2016 congressional bid, a charge he pleaded guilty to in November 2022, only to backpedal a few months later. Kelsey continued to try and put off his prison sentence up until he reported to prison on Feb. 25.
Memphis Tigers Coach Penny Hardaway was just named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. And his team won their first-ever, outright American Athletic Conference regular-season title and claimed the No. 1 seed for this week’s AAC Tournament. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins tells us why a positive message on a friendship bracelet made by an 11-year-old girl could have had something to do with it. (Remember the “Believe” sign in the locker room on “Ted Lasso”? This is like that.)
Plus, a bill that would deny education to kids moves ahead, vapes may get taxed and we look at how Tony Allen became The Grindfather.
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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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