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MEMPHIS HAS LONG BEEN a basketball town. Many mark the city’s love affair with roundball as having begun with the Memphis State Tigers’ 1957 run to the finals of the National Invitation Tournament (a time when the NIT was the equal of the NCAA tournament on a national scale). A half-century later, the Bluff City finds itself with two prominent teams to fill their winter evenings, the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and the University of Memphis Tigers under the same arena roof at FedExForum.
The Grizzlies' ninth season in Memphis has seen the team endear themselves to Memphians as much or more than any of their previous seasons in the Bluff City. The youngest team in the NBA has exceeded all expectations, taking down some of their best competitors including Kobe Bryant and the Lakers and LeBron James and the Cavaliers. And in the process, with the help of the members of Grizz Nation, they have made FedExForum one of the best home court advantages in the league. Leading the way for the Grizzlies has been Zach Randolph, a player whose grit and relentlessness on the floor represent the toughness of the city itself. The team’s second All-Star in franchise history has been flanked by a young core of Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, drawing the envy of teams from around the league. With Lionel Hollins, Coach of the Year candidate, at the helm and a talented young group of players with a flair for the dramatic, the wins and good times are sure to keep coming.
Fellow tenants of the FedExForum, the University of Memphis Tigers have won more than 30 games in each of the last four seasons and have reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen each year, reaching the pinnacle of college basketball with a trip to the 2008 NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, Texas. A heartbreaking loss to Kansas in the National Championship game left a bitter taste to an otherwise unprecedented season by the Tigers. During the 2007-08 campaign, the Tigers won an NCAA-record 38 games and spent five weeks as the number one ranked team in the nation. With the departure of such noted players as Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey, Antonio Anderson and Tyreke Evans for the professional ranks, the 2009-10 Tigers have relied on a mix of veteran leadership and youthful talent to continue the most successful run in the program's history. With new head coach Josh Pastner taking over the helm of Memphis basketball, the team has continued its winning ways and has assured Tiger fans more championship seasons in the near future. Pastner and his staff earned national status during the winter of 2010 by landing the nation's number one recruiting class, featuring numerous prep players from the Memphis area.
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While the weather gets warmer and the seasons begin to change, so do the sporting events we attend. What better way to transition from spring to summer than catching a Memphis Redbirds game along the way? As the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals since 1998, the Redbirds are the first and only professional sports franchise to be recognized as a charity (501C3). Their mission is to improve the lives of the children in our community through programs like RBI (Returning Baseball to the Inner-City) and STRIPES (Sports Teams Returning In the Public Education System).
In 2009, the Redbirds won the Pacific Coast League Championship and are ready to defend their title this year. The 2010 Redbirds season includes 14 fireworks shows, various theme nights and enjoyable giveaways with a fun, affordable, family atmosphere. Check out AutoZone Park, voted the nation’s top minor league park by Baseball America, and make your summer a memorable one.
The grand opening of FedExPark will herald the return to national prominence of the University of Memphis Tigers baseball program. The new stadium and clubhouse, which is located on the University's Park Avenue Campus, feature new locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms, indoor hitting and pitching areas, and equipment and training rooms in the clubhouse. The stadium has a new press facility, concession and rest room areas and dugouts for the teams. A new ticketing area and grand entrance way are located adjacent to the leftfield parking lot and help offer fans a wonderful game day experience. Coach Daron Schoenrock and his Tigers begin the college baseball season in February and 2010 opponents playing in Memphis include nationally-ranked Rice University, Ole Miss, East Carolina and Tulane.
Each fall the Memphis Tiger football team returns to kickoff a new season in the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (which also hosts two major annual events, the Southern Heritage Classic in September and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Classic around New Year’s). The 2010 season will mark the inaugural campaign for new head coach Larry Porter and his staff. A former Memphis Tiger running back, Porter returns to Memphis after a stellar coaching career at Oklahoma State University and LSU, where he was honored as the National Recruiter of the Year in 2006 and 2008. The Memphis football team has participated in a post-season bowl game in five of the last seven seasons, twice as many as the program had attended during the entire 20th century. Annual contests at the Liberty Bowl include such opponents as the University of Tennessee, Mississippi State University, University of Louisville, Duke University, as well as Conference USA members Southern Mississippi, East Carolina, Houston and SMU. Among the former Tigers playing in the NFL are tailback DeAngelo Williams (Carolina Panthers), Stephen Gostkowski (New England Patriots), Tony Brown (Tennessee Titans), Isaac Bruce (San Francisco 49ers) and Brandon McDonald (Cleveland Browns).
The University of Memphis men's and women's tennis teams have recently moved to the Racquet Club of Memphis. The Club and the University have signed a contract which makes the Racquet Club the home facility for the Tiger tennis teams. New locker rooms and a player's lounge have been constructed for the teams. The Racquet Club offers the Tigers both indoor and outdoor courts for competition and practice.
Aside from all the team sports that make the city buzz, there are annual events that make certain months a bit louder, from one venue to another. In February, The Racquet Club of Memphis hosts both the men’s and women’s professional tennis tours. In 2009, the men’s event gained prestige as one of ten 500-level events in the world (a tier below only nine 1000-point tournaments). With The Racquet Club under new ownership, the Regions Morgan Keegan Championship and Cellular South Cup took new strides in a sport that never seems to lose popularity, even with international dominance on the men’s tour. In 2010, amid a bevy of tennis greats that included Andy Roddick and James Blake, Sam Querrey claimed the Championship title. Maria Sharapova defeated competitors such as Melanie Oudin and Sofia Arvidsson to capture the Cellular South Cup.
If you prefer a view from the tee, Memphis is home to 18 area golf courses and numerous regional courses only a short drive away, including Mirimichi, the first course to receive a Classic Sanctuary award from Audubon International. Annual golfing events abound, with the Memphis Golf Association currently staging five championship tournaments and one Pro-Am.
For more than half a century now, Memphis has hosted an annual stop on the PGA Tour, with TPC Southwind hosting the event each summer since 1989. Brian Gay won the 2009 St. Jude Classic in convincing fashion with matching rounds of 66 the last three days. (The 2010 event will take place June 7-13.)